Malagueña Salerosa
by jm1681
Summary: After returning to Venezuela, Garcia and Roberta come to grips with new feelings for one another. The Lagoon Company gets more than they bargained for on a "simple" job for Abrego. Roberta/Garcia, Revy/Rock. Please Review.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello again, Black Lagoon Archive :) It's been a while ;)_

_So I picked up volume 9 of the manga last week, and finally got around to finishing it last night. Near the end, there was this one moment between Garcia and Roberta that sort of stuck out and slapped me across the face. I haven't been very productive these past few days, but I felt very compelled to write this short fic this morning._

_I understand that what I did here might be a bit creepy, but I'm hoping it's more sweet than creep ;)_

_Anyway, I still don't own Black Lagoon._

* * *

Garcia Lovelace sat on his bed, his face turned down towards the framed, photo he held of his father, him, Roberta and Fabiola. It had been one week since he, Fabiola and Roberta had returned to Venezuela, from the land of the dead. Each of them had changed in their short time in Roanapur, but through all the shooting, blood and pain Garcia had witnessed, a single event resonated in his mind; Roberta's lips pressed to his.

It might have been so simple, but the young master had dreamt of such a union for some time now. While he was just a child, Roberta was a beautiful woman, and with his father gone, she and Fabiola were the only family he had now. His fingers passed over his lips as the kiss replayed in his mind, and he carefully placed the picture back on his nightstand, before laying back in bed. He folded his arms behind his head, closed his eyes and a slight smile overtook his lips as he quietly began to sing.

"Qué bonitos ojos tienes, debajo de esas dos cejas,  
debajo de esas dos cejas, Qué bonitos ojos tienes."  
_(Your eyes, they shine like precious gems, your brow is like a crown to frame them,  
sweet brow a crown to frame them, your eyes, they shine like precious gems.)_

Just down the hall from Garcia's bedroom, Roberta tended to things in the living room. Having been empty for days, a fine layer of dust had accumulated on everything throughout the Lovelace home. Even with Roberta and Fabiola hard at work, it took days to get everything just right within the expansive home. No longer hiding behind false glasses, Roberta delicately picked up, and brushed off the various trinkets that adorned the tables, mantles, and bookcases throughout their home.

As she worked her way across a long and thin table which sat directly behind the couch, she came across another framed copy of the very same picture Garcia just held. She carefully took the picture into her left hand, and placed her feather duster on the table top. Her gloved fingers softly ran over the glass as she remembered all master Diego Lovelace had done for her. Her path of revenge had brought her no satisfaction in the wake of his death, and the mere memory of her rampage, of her unfortunate incident with the young master, only stood to upset her further.

Suddenly, from the end of the hall, she heard the faint sound of Garcia's voice. She placed the picture back on the tabletop, as she strained to listen to what he was saying.

"Malagueña Salerosa,  
besar tus labios quisiera, besar tus labios quisiera,  
Malagueña Salerosa, y decirte niña Hermosa."  
_(Oh my sweet rose, how I adore you,  
__for a kiss, I beg and implore you, for one kiss I beg of you,  
__my sweet rose, how I adore you, I want to live all my life for you.)_

Her eyes widened at the words he sang. Did he sing them for her? If he was, did he himself understand the depth of their meaning? Of course Roberta cared for the young master more than anything in this world, but these words he sang told of more than simple caring between servant and Master.

Before she could completely process what she was hearing, she quietly stepped closer towards the hall.

"Que eres linda y hechicera, que eres linda y hechicera,  
como el candor de una rosa, como el candor de una rosa."  
_(Helpless slave to your great beauty, I'd give my life to know your embrace,  
let your eyes say it may now be, I'll own the heart that beats with such grace.)_

Of all she'd seen and done mere days ago, she was more frightened of young Garcia's words. Yet as she walked, an ever-so-subtle spring developed in her step in accordance with the tone and fluctuations in his voice. A smile appeared on her lips, her eyes gently closed, and she was guided by her heart, further towards the young master's room.

"Yo no te ofrezco riquezas, Te ofrezco mi corazón,  
Te ofrezco mi corazón, A cambio de mi pobreza."  
_(I have no worldly goods to share, no gold, no land, no precious stone;  
a tender heart is all I own, to express to you how much I care.)_

She opened her eyes, and slowly continued further down the hallway. 'Bloodhound', 'Guard dog', 'Rosarita', they were all gone. Far away from this place and this moment as the young master quietly professed his feelings for her.

"Malagueña Salerosa,  
besar tus labios quisiera, besar tus labios quisiera,  
Malagueña Salerosa, y decirte niña Hermosa."  
_(Oh my sweet rose, how I adore you,  
__for a kiss, I beg and implore you, for one kiss I beg of you,  
__my sweet rose, how I adore you, I want to live all my life for you.)_

She stood outside the young master's room, her back to the wall as she remembered his kiss. Her smile changed as her head tilted back to rest on the wall behind her. Tears filled her eyes as the young master continued to serenade his love.

"Que eres linda y hechicera, que eres linda y hechicera,  
como el candor de una rosa, como el candor de una rosa."  
_(Helpless slave to your great beauty, I'd give my life to know your embrace,  
let your eyes say it may now be, I'll own the heart that beats with such grace.)_

As they came to her, these feelings she felt for him, she closed her eyes bringing her tears to run down her cheeks. She did love the young master. She would stay with him, guide him, and protect him always. But, what happened in that jungle, that warm and passionate moment of vulnerability; it could never happen again. He was her master, and she was but a servant to his family.

"Malagueña Salerosa,  
besar tus labios quisiera, besar tus labios quisiera,  
Malagueña Salerosa, y decirte niña Hermosa."  
_(Oh my sweet rose, how I adore you,  
__for a kiss, I beg and implore you, for one kiss I beg of you,  
__my sweet rose, how I adore you, I want to live all my life for you.)_

His words began to grate her. Her feelings grew louder with every syllable he spoke, but she was too strong to let herself be taken away by them. Her hands crashed onto her ears as she struggled to silence Garcia's song, and unexpectedly, it had seemed to work. He failed to continue the next verse, and Roberta lowered her hands from her ears.

She wiped the tears from her cheeks, collecting and calming herself in a matter of seconds. She quietly pushed away from the wall to head back to the living room, when Garcia again sang, this time in English, "Oh my sweet rose, how I adore you, for a kiss, I beg and implore you, for one kiss I beg of you, my sweet rose, how I adore you."

She tightly closed her eyes, and took the next step. She had to push on and get away from his voice, and with her next step, she thought she was finally free of this painful moment, when Garcia quietly called out, "Roberta?"

Her eyes instantly opened wide. She straightened herself out, and looked in a mirror in the hall. The dim light in the home might have hid the fact that she was crying, but either way, she had no choice but to promptly see to the young master. She turned and took the two steps needed to appear in his doorway and asked, "Master Garcia?"

Garcia pushed himself up in his bed, and without invitation or provocation, Roberta proceeded into his room. She knelt at his bedside and asked, "Is everything alright, young master?"

He placed a hand on her cheek and smiled, "It will be."

Peering into his eyes, she could feel what was coming. She had to stop this. She turned her face away just slightly as she spoke, "Master Garc-"

Alas, she was interrupted as Garcia again pressed his lips to hers. She knew this was wrong, she could feel it throughout her body how this was the last place she should be, yet she couldn't bring herself to pull away from him; not just yet. There was no reassertion of the kiss, or any aggressive motion or action; it was an innocent and warm kiss, the likes of which Roberta had never known. Finding her way out of the moment, her hand rose to his, and gently she pulled his fingers from her face, finally separating their lips.

"Master Garcia-"

"It's alright, Roberta," Garcia interrupted with a smile. He placed his other hand atop hers, so that he was now holding her, "For my sweet rose, I can wait till the end of time."

* * *

_And that's that. If you made it this far I hope you enjoyed it :)_

_I apologize if the translations for the song are not 100% accurate. They came from a website (Available upon request) and were noted as the "musical English translation" ;)_

_-jm_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello again :)_

_So before some of you start throwing full wine bottle at your computer screens, let me promise you, this is the one and only update I will be making to this story ;)_

_K, now that I've cleared that up, I know a lot of folks were NOT overly thrilled with my pairing of Roberta and Garcia. Normally, that would disuade me from taking it further, but I found myself completely incabapable of not writing this fic (I blame Volume 9). Unlike the original one-shot, the Lagoon Company is on the job in this 8 chapter update, and I've taken another shot at Revy and Rock's odd relationship._

_Anyway, I've been staring at the 20,000+ words for a few days now, and I think I've done all I can do with it. Hopefully it's enjoyable :)_

* * *

In Roanapur's finest Colombian restaurant, Dutch sat opposite the head of the Manisarrera Cartel. Rock sat at his side, sure to oversee business with Abrego, while behind them, Revy and Benny stood watch. "It's a simple job, Dutch; in and out. You'll spend more time at sea then on land."

Dutch exhaled a mouthful of smoke as he dwelled on the details of their deal. Abrego had offered fifteen thousand US dollars, to collect a shipment from their supplier in Colombia, and return to Roanapur. While for all intensive purposes, Abrego was bang-on that this should be a simple job, trouble seemed to come looking for the Lagoon Company. Dutch flicked his ashes into the tray on the table and calmly replied, "I like simple, but need I remind you, you said the same thing about the transport of one Garcia Lovelace. We all remember how that turned out."

A slight chill filled the room at mere mention of the name 'Lovelace'. It had been two weeks since Garcia, Roberta, and Fabiola left for Venezuela, and still, the spilt blood from Roberta's rampage in Roanapur hadn't completely dried.

Abrego kept his cool as best he could. He could have barked orders at Dutch, but the fact of the matter was Dutch didn't need Abrego; Abrego needed him. "Look, Dutch; I know things have been fucked up around here since that crazy fucking maid came through, but all that's behind us now. We got no business with her or the kid anymore."

Dutch took a drag and replied, "Yeah, but Colombia's _awfully_ close to Venezuela, my friend. Way our luck runs, we'll end up running into those crazy bitches on happenstance alone. Granted my crew and I do alright in tense shit, none of us fancy getting involved with Miss T-1000 again, especially not after that shit two weeks ago."

Abrego smiled slightly, he had planned a bit further ahead for this job, "The ship is set to make port in Tumaco, Dutch. You won't be going anywhere near Venezuela or those fucking maids."

"Looks like you've thought this out," Rock commented as he flicked his ashes loose. "Usually planning the route comes on our end."

"My business took a hit because of that crazy bitch. I can't afford to take any risks with this job."

Dutch exhaled the smoke in his lungs, "I hear you loud and clear on that one. Unfortunately we've been a bit slow these days too. However, now that things seem to be getting back to normal around here, our rates are just about back to normal as well."

Gustavo's eyes narrowed and he asked, "How much?"

After re-filling his lungs with smoke, Rock answered for the boss, "Twenty-five thousand."

"Seventeen," Abrego quickly countered.

Dutch snuffed out his cigarette in finality, "Twenty; take it or leave it."

Rock leaned across the table to put out his cigarette while they waited for Abrego's answer. Without a word, the Colombian raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. One of his subordinates approached with a weathered, brown leather suitcase, and placed it on the table between them. Abrego spun the combinations into its golden latches, flipped the case open, and turned it to Dutch. "Ten-thousand up front, and ten more when you return to Roanapur, with the merchandise."

Dutch lightly reached his arm up and closed the case. He and Rock stood from the table and Dutch spoke one last time, "Always a pleasure."

As soon as the Lagoon Company was out of earshot, Gustavo leaned to the boss and asked, "Why the fuck do you give in to those assholes? We could just as easily get-"

"Who?" Abrego interrupted. "Who the fuck could we get that's going to handle shit the way Lagoon does? Dutch might be a prick, but he's right. That crew'a his can get out of anything without fucking up the merchandise or getting themselves killed." He watched through the window as Lagoon piled into their GTO. "They might not even know it, but they've got this fucking town by the balls."

Benny spun up the 389 and left a long and smoky eleven in his wake as the crew headed off towards the docks. In the back seat, Revy sat with her cheek resting on her knuckles, "Twenty-fuckin'-grand for two weeks at sea; what a fuckin' waste of time."

"We were lucky to have gotten that much out of'em in the first place, Two-hands," Dutch replied. "Business is slow all over Roanapur, and a job like this ain't worth twenty grand in the first place."

Revy scoffed as she replied, "What about Fry-face? Didn't she say she have a gig for us?"

"Last I heard, she gave it to the Italians," Rock quietly replied from the opposite side of the back seat, in a pose that mirrored Revy's.

"What the fuck?" Revy grumbled.

"If you asked me, it's pretty fuckin' insulting," Dutch added. "But, business is business. Besides, when the Italians fuck up, it'll just guarantee that she never goes through them again."

"So how's this gonna work, Dutch?" Benny asked.

"On the surface, Abrego's right; this should be cake," Dutch replied. "Once we reach Tumaco, we pick up the jeep his buddies are supplying us with, head out to the coca fields to make the pickup, get back to the boat; Bob's your uncle. The whole thing shouldn't take more than a few hours."

"And you really think it's gonna go that fuckin' smooth?" Revy asked.

"I sure as shit hope so. I know we ain't even on the boat yet, but I'd appreciate it if you could keep the twins in their holsters." Revy cringed as Dutch continued, "Last thing we need is these assholes thinkin' we're out to screw'em, and all fuckin' hell breakin' loose."

"Yeah, yeah," Revy replied. She turned to look back out the window, and for just a moment, looked back over her shoulder to Rock. His eyes were fixed on the ocean as they drove alongside it. _"He's been awfully fuckin' quiet,"_ she thought before turning back to the rows of vendors on the opposite end of the street.

* * *

In the Lovelace home, several well-dressed men had come to meet with Garcia. With the unfortunate passing of his father, Garcia was now the twelfth head of the Lovelace family, and as such, he had to learn the ropes of the family business. While he was fairly knowledgeable on the subject of the Lanthanides his family mined, he knew little of the day-to-day workings of the business. In any other family business, the men that surrounded him for the first time since the passing of his father might have turned in their resignations. However, as Garcia sat in his father's seat, they didn't see a child; they saw a man ready to begin his life.

Donning her maid's attire, but not her glasses, Roberta stepped into the dining room where this impromptu meeting took place. Upon entering the room, she and the young master shared a smile, and she proceeded around the room, setting a teacup down before each of the men. On a second round about the table, she filled each cup three-quarters of the way, and after filling the young master's, he politely addressed her, "Thank you very much, Roberta."

"Of course, young master," Roberta replied. "If you need anything, please ring for me." She closed the doors behind her and simply stood a few steps back from them.

On her way to the kitchen, Fabiola noticed Roberta standing motionless before the double doors to the dining room. Curious, she altered her path and stepped in front of Roberta, though her eyes didn't detract to her little protégé as she spoke, "Matron?"

Roberta's eyes remained fixed on the doors as she answered, "Yes?"

"The young master is in good company ma'am; you don't have to stand guard over him."

"I swore an oath to protect the young master, and his father," Roberta replied. "I failed, and because of my failure, Master Lovelace is gone forever, and in a fit of rage, I almost killed the young man I swore to protect. I will never allow these things to happen again."

"I understand, but please remember; it is possible to care too much for those we hold dear to us."

Roberta finally turned to face Fabiola and smiled just slightly, "I understand. Thank you, Fabiola." She quickly turned her gaze back to the doors, which brought Fabiola to roll her eyes and continue to the kitchen.

Meanwhile in the dining room, the meeting was well under way, "Garcia, are you certain you don't need more time?"

"My father taught me to be strong. Everyday without him is a new struggle, but the longer I wait to take my place as the head of this family, the further behind we all become," Garcia replied. "We all have families to care for, myself included. I need to be strong now, so that we don't all suffer."

The man who had addressed him earlier looked most pleased at hearing young Garcia's words, "You're quite the young man, son." He turned to the rest of his associates and spoke, "Let's begin." They all retrieved several folders and documents from their briefcases and placed them about the table. "If anything requires any more specific explanation Garcia, please ask."

"Thank you," Garcia replied. He hadn't known this feeling before, but he could only imagine it to be pride. He'd earned the respect of his father's business partners, and he would work hard to keep the family name strong.

Several hours later, the doors to the dining room creaked just slightly before opening completely. At the very sound of them opening, Roberta shifted her position, as to not appear as though she'd been standing guard for three hours. Even with her extensive military training, her body ached after having been so completely still for so long. She ignored the pain as she took Garcia into view and spoke, "Finished for the day, young master?"

For a moment, he simply stared at her face. He was still getting used to the sight of Roberta without glasses. The way her hair gently framed her face, adding a tenderness to her smile. Though she was a good deal older than him, and there was much of her life he might never understand, Garcia's love for her was absolute. They were always in each other's company, and while she was nothing more than the young master's maid, one day if she would oblige him, he would have her as his bride.

Finally he answered her with a smile, "For now, Roberta."

Doing her best to keep the pain in her legs and lower back buried, Roberta asked, "Would you like me to fix lunch?"

"Are you hungry?" Garcia innocently asked. It might have been a simple and kind gesture, but it warmed Roberta's heart when he spoke to her this way. Not as his maid, or as his servant, but as his family.

Fabiola entered the room to find Garcia and Roberta as she often had these past few days, in the midst of their quasi-high-school romantic banter.

"I'm fine," Roberta replied somewhat flatly.

Fabiola again rolled her eyes as she continued through the room, and Garcia spoke once more, "Then I can wait."

* * *

Aboard the container ship Abrego had arranged for the Lagoon Company to travel with, Rock stood at the starboard edge of the deck. He leaned on the safety rail with a cigarette in his lips, looking out at the South China Sea. Beside him, Benny leaned his back up against the rail, and behind them, the boss and the guns exchanged words. Dutch held Revy in as delicate of a headlock as he could, while he scolded her for kicking the door to their bunk open, breaking the lock in the process. "Dammit girl! I know the Captain of this boat and I don't want him seein' mine acting like some goddamned street rats!"

His calling her a street rat bit her hard, instantly bringing her temper to rise a little further. "This is fuckin' bullshit, Dutch!" Revy barked. "Not only are we getting paid dick for this fucking job, but all four of us have to share one fuckin' bunk too?"

"If you want, I'll sleep on one of the fuckin' lifeboats, and I'll try and get Rock and Benny other accommodations; I don't give a fuck," Dutch replied. "We're only out here for a few days, and if we don't act like a bunch of idiots, we might even get to spend some of those days hungover. But if you keep acting like some goddamned punk, it's just gonna make the trip longer, _and_ pull from our payment."

She growled slightly and finally worked her way out of Dutch's grasp. As she adjusted her holsters, Dutch addressed her once more, "I'm gonna go talk to the Captain, see if he has any more room for-"

"Fuck it," Revy interrupted. "I'll take the fuckin' lifeboat." She walked off towards the stern, and called back to the boss, her middle finger raised behind her, "Have fun bunking up tonight."

As he approached Rock and Benny, Dutch commented, "She's in rare form. Everything alright, Rock?"

"How should I know?" Rock replied, without turning to face the boss.

"I meant with you," Dutch replied. "You've been quiet all morning."

"I'm just thinking about what Fabiola said to me before they left for Venezuela."

Dutch pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and screwed one into his lips. After lighting his smoke he asked, "And what was that?"

He paused for a moment as the gravity of her comment passed over him, "That I was the biggest piece of shit in Roanapur." Dutch rested his elbows on the rail alongside Rock, and Benny turned to lean on the rail as well. Rock turned to the boss and asked, "You think that's true?"

Dutch exhaled the smoke in his lungs before he replied, "What do you think, Rock?"

He turned back to the ocean, "I don't know what to think anymore."

"You _do_ play a risky hand, Rock. She might not have agreed with your methods, but Garcia was the one who asked for your help. It wasn't your job to please her, but to get Roberta back to Garcia," Benny replied. "At the end of the day you did that, and everybody lived." Rock and Dutch shot Benny a glare and he corrected himself, "Well not really, but your clients lived. That's got to count for something, right?"

"I guess," Rock replied. He flicked his cigarette into the ocean, and commented as he headed off after Revy, "Further down the rabbit hole."

"You think he's gonna be alright?" Benny asked the boss.

"He might not be able to shake that cool businessman exterior, but ever since he crewed up with us, there's been a war brewing inside him. One of these days he's going to pop; I just hope it doesn't cost me business, or him his life."

As Rock approached the stern, he found Revy standing at the rail, exactly as he'd been a moment ago. He could see the smoke from her cigarette as he closed in on her, and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He lit a smoke, placed his hands in his pockets, and leaned his back up against the rail beside her. They stood in silence for a moment before Revy quietly spoke, "Thanks for your help back there, partner."

"What was I supposed to do, Revy?"

"I don't know, speak up maybe? One fuckin' bunk for four people? It's bullshit and you know it."

"What do you care? You don't seem to have a problem showing skin, and it's not like you sleep naked."

"Whatever," Revy deflected.

"Come on, Revy; I think I've known you long enough to know when you're picking a fight."

She scoffed as she spoke, "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

Rock grinned just slightly. He gave her a few silent moments to cool down, and finally spoke, "Do you want to talk about it?"

A thousand feelings passed over her in half-a-heartbeat, but her words came out with no thought, "There's nothing to talk about, Rock."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Revy-"

She didn't even give him the chance. She slapped his hand off of her and interrupted, "Fuck off."

Revy flicked her cigarette into the ocean, and Rock merely watched her as she stomped off to who knows where.

* * *

_Oh, and I don't own Black Lagoon ;)_


	3. Chapter 3

Just through the Philippine Sea, the sun crested the horizon, turning the morning sky a golden orange tinge. As she had promised, Revy lay in one of the lifeboats, suspended several dozen feet above the surface of the sea. After her spat with Rock and Dutch the previous afternoon, she hadn't spoken a word to anyone for the rest of the night. She tossed in the boat, giving it a bit of a swing. She was so peaceful just laying there, completely oblivious to the fact that Rock stood at the railing beside her; smiling slightly as he watched her sleep.

He wondered endlessly what went on inside her head. What sort of life she must have had to become the broken shell that lay before him. He could fix just about anybody, but after nearly two years with the Lagoon Company, he'd all but given up any hope of ever fixing Revy. She didn't want to be fixed, and if one day she just happened to be all better, he wondered if he might not care about her as much.

"You alright, Rock?" Dutch quietly asked, startling his businessman.

Rock turned to the boss and asked, "Huh?"

Dutch approached him and leaned over the rail next to him. He looked in on Revy and smiled as he commented, "Hard to believe something can be so peaceful one minute, and so completely fuckin' crazy the next."

Rock turned his attention back to Revy and replied, "Yeah." He turned back to the boss and asked, "Hey Dutch, permission to speak freely?"

Dutch grinned at Rock's polite exchange, "Granted."

"Sometimes I wish she never had to wake up," Rock replied. He turned to face Revy, and could see her eyes fluttering beneath their lids, "She's dreaming. Her breathing isn't elevated; you think maybe she really is at peace in there?"

"It's a sweet thought, Rock. But the thought of that girl at peace, it just doesn't compute."

"You don't think she can ever know peace?"

Dutch lit himself a smoke and replied, "I think she's going to go full-bore until the day she dies." At mention of death in Revy's future, Rock's eyes widened, while Dutch continued, "It's all she knows." Taking notice of the concerned look on Rock's face, Dutch commented, "Don't think too much into it, Rock. She might not know when to quit, but you know as well as I do, she's pretty damn good at what she does." As Rock absorbed Dutch's words, the boss stepped behind him and patted him on the back, "See you in the mess hall for breakfast."

"Wait, Dutch!"

"Rock?" Revy weakly muttered. He turned to face her and she wasted no time scolding him this morning, "What the fuck, Rock? You know I fucking hate it when you watch me sleep; it's creepy."

Rock smiled slightly as more than a few thoughts, memories, and feelings washed over him, "Wanna get some breakfast?"

* * *

In a large, and somewhat overdone mansion in Venezuela, a group of perhaps twenty men carried on a loud and indecipherable discussion at a rather long table. Every now and again a few words broke through the loud din, _"…five-hundred…Abrego…fuckers…Roanapur…kilos…Lagoon…"_

"What the fuck is this?" A man at the end of the table shouted as he stood from the table. Dressed in a white-on-white suit, this man was quite obviously their leader. "We're sitting here arguing like a bunch of fucking children; when those fucking bitches from Roanapur are coming here right fucking now, to take _our_ drugs from us. Our sources tell us that fucking punto Abrego has sent four pieces of shit to make his pickup."

"What are we supposed to do?" One of the men barked. "We don't know what field they're hitting, and-"

"What the fuck is wrong with you assholes?" The man in white roared. "Our Cartel outnumbers them, over a hundred to one. We've got all the law enforcement in South America in our pockets, and you ask 'what are we supposed to do'? Soon as they make landfall, we're going to follow these fucking bitches and when the time is right, we're going to kill them, and send their fucked up bodies back to Roanapur as a message to that fucking cocksucker."

"When do they arrive?" Another of the men asked.

"Five days from now. Until then, I want each of you to keep a close eye on your territories. Don't let anything slip through the cracks, and if anyone looks out of place, don't ask questions; just fucking kill them."

"Boss-"

"No fucking argument, Armano! Those fucking assholes in Roanapur are watching us, and I want them to see we are _not_ fucking around! Once we send their delivery boys back to them in fucking pieces, they'll stay the fuck out of South America for good." The man in white looked over his people and barked, "Que putas andas esperando? Largate de aqui!"

* * *

In the Lovelace mansion, Garcia placed his fork on his empty plate and immediately Roberta ceased eating. She turned to him and asked, "Was everything to your liking, Master Garcia?"

Garcia smiled as he wiped his lips, "It was delicious!" He stood from his seat, took his plate into his hands and Roberta hastily dropped her fork in an attempt to take the plate from him. He pushed her hands away, directing her back to her seat as he spoke, "Finish eating, Roberta. I can bring my plate to the kitchen."

"Are you cert-"

"Yes," Garcia interrupted. "Please, finish your breakfast."

Fabiola sat opposite Roberta who almost seemed lost at not tending to Garcia's place setting. She rolled her fork across her fingers, watching on their exchange with half-closed eyes. As Garcia continued into the kitchen, Roberta picked up her fork and took another bite.

Garcia stepped back into the room and again, Roberta immediately stopped eating, "Master Garcia."

Again he smiled as he stepped beside her, "Please eat, Roberta. Gabriel and Manuel will be arriving shortly; I'll be in the study."

"Yes, Master Garcia."

She remained completely still, watching him as he walked off to the study. Her eyes followed every step he took, every crease his suit formed as it shifted about him, until finally; he closed the door behind him. Without taking another bite, she stood from her seat and collected her plate and silverware. Fabiola's face told of her disapproval and finally she spoke, halting her mentor in her tracks, "He's in the next room, Matron. I don't think you have anything to fear for Master Garcia at the moment."

Roberta had no explanation for her behavior. Garcia's safety was her only concern in life. Without that single goal, her life had no purpose and she'd never fail him again. She collected her thoughts as best she could, and continued towards the kitchen with her plate, without a word for Fabiola.

* * *

Mid-way through the next day at sea, Revy walked onto the bridge of the container ship to find Dutch and the Captain sharing a smoke. Laughter filled the room, ever so slightly lowering her guard. At hearing her boots crash into the diamond-plated floor of the bridge, Dutch turned to her and commented, "Ah, Captain Delgado, meet Revy."

The Captain was an older man. Clean cut for a seaman, but a fair bit wrinkled, and dressed not quite like a grunt, but a man who'd seen more than his current position told. He extended his hand to her with a smile on his lips. She looked to his hand and accepted it in a somewhat awkward shake. "You didn't tell me she was beautiful, Dutch."

She blushed just slightly, her hand reaching behind her head in embarrassment. As he took his hand back, the Captain again commented, "Shy too."

Dutch chuckled which immediately brought Revy's embarrassment to vanish, "Something fuckin' funny?"

The Captain too laughed, "You were right about that mouth though."

Revy mock laughed among their laughter, "Yeah I'm real fucking hilarious. When the fuck are we making port?"

The Captain took a drag from his cigarette and without checking anything answered her, "I was just telling Dutch here that we've got four more full days out here. We should be arriving in Tumaco late-Friday afternoon. We'll get everything unloaded while you're…" He cleared his throat, "…taking care of business, and we should be back at sea Friday night. If we're lucky, we'll be back in Thailand by Thursday next week."

The Captain offered Revy a cigarette, which she accepted and lit. She took a deep drag and as the taste filled her mouth, she looked down to the cigarette, "Non-filters…" she looked back to the Captain and finished her thought with a smile, "…good man." She stepped closer to the window and lifted her right leg, placing her unlaced boot on a kick rail, "So am I the only one who doesn't think this is gonna be some fuckin' walk in the park? The two of you have this fairy-tale fuckin' schedule all planned out."

"Not every job has to end with a gunfight, Revy," Dutch quietly replied, his tone indicative that didn't want to have this discussion in front of the Captain.

"Not every job…" Revy replied as she exhaled a mouthful of smoke, "…but most of'em."

"You make it sound like every job you do ends with people dying," The Captain laughed. Revy and Dutch shared a telling stare, and the Captain's light-hearted tone shifted immediately, "They don't do they?"

Revy and Dutch remained silent, and Revy dropped her cigarette to the floor of the bridge. After snuffing out the smoke with her boot, she made her way to the rear door and called back to the Captain without turning to face him, "Thanks for the smoke."

* * *

In the Lovelace mansion, Garcia and the same men he'd met with a few days earlier sat in discussion of business. They were sure to take things slow, but Garcia was quick to catch on. For the most part, he understood how this worked. The lanthanides were mined, sorted, packaged, and finally shipped around the world to waiting buyers and corporations.

After clicking through a few slides on a presentation, one of the men spoke, "Those are the current figures as best I can tell."

"So we're showing a 30% gain in the first quarter?" Another of the men asked.

Conversation carried on, but as young Garcia listened in and observed the exchange between his coworkers, his thoughts were solely of Roberta. Seeing her as he had in that jungle in Roanapur, like a dog being hunted for sport; he hated the men and women that sought her. But vengeance could always wait till tomorrow. For now, he just wanted to see her face once more.

The conversation reached a brief pause and Garcia usurped the opportunity, "Would anyone care for tea?"

One of the men smiled, quickly rushing to applaud Garcia's courtesy, "Certainly, thank you Garcia."

A leather strap hung from the ceiling just behind Garcia's seat at the table. A gentle tug brought a bell in the main hall of the home to ring, and within seconds, Roberta appeared in the doorway. "Yes, Master Garcia?"

As his eyes met hers, he was completely lost. He had no way of knowing whether or not what he felt was real, the only thing he knew was that every beat of his heart, and every butterfly in his stomach told him that this was what love was supposed to feel like. While she too was growing wary of her own feelings, Roberta's penchant to serve her young master controlled her tongue, "Master Garcia?"

Being snapped out of his trance, Garcia replied, "Oh, I'm sorry Roberta. Could we please have tea?"

"Certainly, young master; will that be all?"

"Yes, thank you Roberta," Garcia finished with a warm smile.

She closed the doors behind her and one of the men opposite Garcia spoke, "She is truly an amazing creature, Garcia."

Garcia immediately found himself off-guard. Was this to be his first round of guy-talk? He froze solid; he couldn't get into his feelings for Roberta with his business associates, and quickly attempted to shift the subject, "Yes she is." He turned to the paperwork on the table before him and continued, "I'm to understand we recently completed a shipment?"

"That's correct," One of the men replied. "One ton of refined lanthanide ore, to 'C and H Manufacturing' in Austin, Texas."

"If it's alright with everyone, I'd like to make the arrangements at the port," Garcia replied.

Surprise passed over each of them at how enterprising Garcia was to further his part in the business. They knew he was strong and that he wanted to fill his father's role, they just never expected him to show such determination. His father's right-hand man smiled and offered, "If you like, I'd be happy to go over the details of arranging the shipment with you."

Garcia smiled and replied, "Thank you, Gabriel."

Gabriel turned to the rest of the men and addressed them, "Gentlemen, I think we've covered everything necessary in today's meeting. We'll convene tomorrow at the same time."

As the other men stood from the table, Roberta entered with a tray of teacups. At the sight of all but Gabriel getting to their feet, Roberta asked, "Young Master?"

"Everything's fine, Miss Roberta," Gabriel replied as several of the men said their goodbyes to Roberta. With just the three of them left in the room, Gabriel continued, "Garcia and I have a bit of work to do. Come Friday, Garcia's going to arrange his first shipment at La Salina. Do you know it?"

Memories of bloodshed at that very port ran through Roberta's mind and she flatly replied, "Yes."

"We should go together, Roberta!" Garcia exclaimed.

Frightened at the thought of going back to that place, Roberta spoke, "I don't think I-"

"That'd be excellent for me, since I have another meeting that afternoon," Gabriel replied.

"Is it okay?" Garcia asked.

She hadn't the heart to tell the young master no. She put on a warm smile and replied, "Certainly, young master."

* * *

Four days had passed since the Lagoon Company departed Roanapur. Four days at sea, without the influence of alcohol, was slowly starting to grate on all of their nerves, especially Revy who was now beginning to show signs of withdrawal.

She and Rock lay opposite one another in two separate lifeboats. Whether they intended it or not, lately they always seemed to fall into positions that mirrored the other's. They both lay with cigarettes in their lips, though while Rock's still body merely swayed with the boat, Revy's body had just the slightest occasional tremor.

After a few moments of silence, Rock asked, "Is it something you use everyday?"

"Uh-huh," Revy replied. "16."

"It's not your Cutlass, right?"

"Nope; 15."

"Is it a bullet?"

"Nope; 14. You fucking suck at this, Rock."

"Sorry, I guess I never thought I'd be sitting in a life raft playing twenty questions with you."

"It's a lifeboat, dumb-ass; and what the fuck does that have to do with anything anyway? Don't over think it just play the fucking game. It's not a person, place, vegetable, or mineral. It goes outside sometimes, it's not man-made, and it's smaller than a fuckin' breadbox."

"Is it an animal of some kind?"

"Nope; 13."

Rock sighed and blew smoke from the corner of his lips, "I don't know, Revy. I give up."

She felt the slightest glimmer of sorrow for him and offered him a hint, "C'mon, Rock; I'll give you a freebie."

Rock heart jumped into his throat and immediately he sat upright and asked, "What?"

"It's full of liquid and it's always the same color, unless you meet me." She just barely turned her eyes to meet his and asked, "What is it?"

Rock thought on it for a moment and a smile passed over his lips. He chuckled lightly and shook his head as he got it, "Is it a brain?"

Revy smiled and threw her hands behind her head as she turned to face him, "See that, you just need to know what questions to ask, dumb-ass."

She again turned her face so that she was looking to a different part of the sky. Rock kept his eyes locked on her, and while she very well may have felt his stare, she didn't acknowledge it. Moments like this, where Revy was absolutely herself, but showed another layer; Rock longed for them. He wished so much to know more about her life, but everything he knew about courting a woman would be completely useless with Revy. _"I wonder what she's thinking right now?"_

Revy played every minute of every day as it came to her, which was precisely the reason times like these were so intolerable. Nothing to react to, save for her colleagues, and while any of them would probably be more than happy to strike up conversation; her lack of patience would see her lose her temper in seconds. With Rock being the closest to her, the last thing she wanted was to screw things up with him and so, she simply lay there and stared at the sky. _"What the fuck do I care for anyway? It's not like he gives a fuck about me."_

Rock leaned back in his lifeboat and looked up towards the sky. _"Who am I kidding; I'm probably the last thing on her mind."_

_

* * *

__"Que putas andas esperando? Largate de aqui!" - What are you waiting for? Get out of here!_


	4. Chapter 4

In the head of the Cartel's mansion, the man in white paced at the head of the same table, where he addressed his subordinates. He held the same 1927 Sistema semi-automatic Roberta favored in his left hand, though this weapon was polished chrome. The pearl grips flexed under his fingers as he asked, not raising his voice, nor looking to the man with whom he was speaking, "So tell me again, Fernando; why am I paying you?"

Every now and again, the man in white twitched, raising the tension throughout the room as he stepped back and forth. Finally he turned to face the man he was speaking to and again calmly asked, sure to accentuate his name as he spoke it, "Fernando?"

"Boss?" Fernando quietly replied.

"Why the fuck, am I fucking paying you!" The man in white roared. "Last night, my fucking package boy makes a delivery to Tumaco, and this morning, he tells me the ship from Roanapur is coming in early. I'm paying you to be my eyes and ears, and my useless fucking, piece-of-shit nephew, is the one to tell me this."

"Boss-"

Fernando was interrupted as the boss placed a .45 caliber slug in his skull. Fernando's blood sprayed onto his white suit and he turned the gun onto the rest of his subordinates. They all flinched as he calmly spoke and waved the gun about, "Let this be a fucking lesson to each and every one of you bitches; Jesus Escamillo will not tolerate failure!" As two of his men dragged Fernando's corpse from the room, Jesus pointed to him with his gun and continued, "If any of you fuck up like that fucking asshole, and are stupid enough to come back here, you will end up just like him!"

Silence filled the room and finally, Jesus managed to calm himself. He placed his gun on the table and gave it a spin which seemed to ease the tension in the room for a moment. He pulled a vial from his coat pocket, cracked it and sniffed the contents, then picked up the gun. Again his men seemed to cower in their seats and he addressed them once more, "These Roanapur bitches arrive in Tumaco in four hours. I want our best guns to follow them to the fields. Wait until they think they're home free, slow them down, and bring them to me. I don't trust any of you fucking idiots to take care of this job then and there."

"Boss we can-"

Jesus raised his pistol to the ceiling and fired off a single shot, interrupting one of his men, "Shut the fuck up! Just do as I fucking tell you, and bring them here, alive."

* * *

At the port of Tumaco, the Lagoon Company piled into a military issue jeep. As she took a seat in on the unpadded bench in the rear, Revy commented, "We're rolling in fuckin' luxury these days."

Benny adjusted the driver's seat, and Dutch turned to face Captain Delgado, "Much obliged, Captain."

"Anytime, Dutch." The Captain handed Dutch a rather cumbersome yellow phone and commented, "I don't know how you feel about these, but you're a long way from home; I think you'd be smart to take it with you."

Dutch smiled as he accepted the phone, "Satellite phone, right?"

Captain Delgado smiled and replied, "That's right. All the numbers you should need to get me are on the back, and the battery is good for a week."

From the back seat, Rock replied, "I can't imagine we'll need it, but better safe than sorry, right?"

"Smart kid you have there, Dutch."

Dutch turned back to face Rock, and replied, "Don't let him fool you; he's one crazy son-of-a-bitch."

The Captain smiled and knocked on the side of the jeep signaling them to go, and with little hesitation, Benny pulled the jeep onto the main road out of the port.

"So where the fuck is this place?" Revy shouted over the wind and road noise.

"'Bout an hour north of Bogota," Dutch replied. "We've got a long drive ahead of us, but on the bright side, it's barely noon. We play our cards right, and we should be back in Tumaco just in time to head on home."

Revy wanted nothing more than to get into a fight with the boss over his unfailing optimism. With the noise and having to scream to speak, she kept her frustration simple, "Awfully fuckin' optimistic, boss-man."

"We play it cool, ain't no reason anyone should fuck with us, Revy."

She kept her outburst to herself, and merely pulled one of her Cutlass from its holster. At the sight of her pulling one of her guns, Rock's eyes locked on her. She slid the magazine from the frame, and reinserted the gun into its holster. Taking the magazine into her right hand, she pushed out one 9x19 after another into her left hand. Rock smiled slightly; he'd seen her do this before. The morning they left Japan to come back to Roanapur, a few weeks later right before Roberta returned to Roanapur, and once more the morning after Roberta and company left for Venezuela.

It seemed to be some sort of pseudo-self-therapy. In truth, the sight of her in such an obsessive compulsive state was both highly unsettling, and at the same time, calming to some degree. She'd only started doing this bizarre ritual recently, and only seemed to do so when she was nervous. He silently watched on as she mouthed her count, _"…twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen."_

She switched hands, and began feeding the cartridges back into the magazine, again counting to herself. Finally, he spoke just loud enough to try and keep their conversation buried under the wind and road noise, "Are you alright, Revy?" She didn't turn to him, and again he asked, just a bit louder, "Revy?"

"Huh?" She looked up from what she was doing, and with a completely innocent look on her face asked, "What?"

Rock looked and nodded in the direction of her hands, and they simply stared at one another for a moment. After a few seconds of silence Rock continued, "You double-check your bullet counts when you're nervous."

"And?" Revy curtly replied.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fuckin' fine, Rock," Revy quietly barked, ending their conversation. After finishing her count, Revy pulled her Cutlass and reinserted the magazine. She snapped the slide back, chambering a round, and holding the hammer with her thumb, she squeezed the trigger decocking the weapon. She slipped the weapon back in its holster and without a thought pulled the other Cutlass. She instinctually repeated the process with the other gun, only to find Rock staring at her, stopping her in her tracks.

The emotion and concern in that stare was so thick it could have been cut with a knife. Not looking to have this conversation ever, never mind having to scream it, Revy resumed what she was doing and offered just loud enough for Rock to hear, "Go to sleep, Rock. I'll wake you up when we get there."

* * *

In the Lovelace mansion, Gabriel was just finishing up the details of the shipment with Garcia. He was amazed how much like his father Garcia had become. He quickly caught on to everything Gabriel explained, and soaked up knowledge like a sponge.

"Captain Cantillo is a good man, and has been doing business with your father for years," Gabriel explained. "I have no doubt he'll help you smooth over any issues with the transaction."

"I think I'm ready," Garcia happily replied.

They went over the details once more, while outside the study, Roberta watched on. As they were heading out for the day, she was dressed in a feminine business suit as opposed to her maid's attire; black slacks, collared white button-down shirt, and a black dress coat. Her hair was tied back in a single ponytail, and beneath her coat, her chambered Sistema Colts patiently waited.

Garcia and Gabriel exited the study a few moments later, and Roberta discreetly turned to a mirror to adjust her collar. As Garcia approached her, he soaked up her attire with an awestruck glance. He'd never seen her dressed so elegantly, and in that moment, he felt like the luckiest man in the world, simply to be in the presence of such an amazing creature.

"Are you ready, Master Garcia?" Roberta asked with a warm smile.

Just barely out of his trance, Garcia replied with a telling grin, "Uh-huh."

Noticing his somewhat mesmerized gaze, Roberta looked to Gabriel and asked, "Is everything alright?"

Gabriel placed his hand on Garcia's shoulder, and Roberta couldn't help but lock her eyes on the simple action. "Garcia is catching on very quickly. His father would be proud."

"Thank you, Gabriel," Garcia replied, turning slightly to look him in the eye.

"You're welcome. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with some of our clients back at the office. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call," Gabriel offered before Roberta gestured to escort him to the door.

As she walked him to the door, Roberta spoke to Gabriel, "Thank you for helping the young master."

Gabriel turned in the doorway and proudly smiled, "He hardly requires helping. He's quite a bright young man." He looked her over briefly and quietly spoke, "Miss Roberta, I don't suppose I could impose on you to have dinner with me some night?"

Of all she'd seen and taken part in, in her twenty-five years, Roberta had never been asked on a date. She'd never known the time or opportunity for that matter. However, as she stood before Gabriel, not much more than a shy girl being asked out for the first time, she barely even thought on her response as she spoke it, "No thank you."

The abruptness of her rejection brought Gabriel to flinch and ask, "I'm sorry, how rude of me. Are you seeing someone?"

Just as his thoughts were of her, ever since their kiss in the jungles of Roanapur, hers were of Garcia. A slight grin appeared on her lips and she quietly spoke, "I am."

* * *

Revy, Rock, Dutch and Benny stood in a large make-shift hut in the middle of an expansive coca field. At the sight of the numerous trays of white powder throughout the hut, they each stood with their mouths agape in complete shock and awe. The sheer scale of the amount of cocaine in the room was something none of them had ever seen before. Of course it would be Revy who stated the obvious in its most simple form, "Now that's a lot of fuckin' coke."

The would-be shop foreman gave a high-pitched chuckle and commented, "We harvest best product in all of Colombia."

Dutch collected his jaw and replied, "Yeah so about our pickup?"

The foreman collected a moderately sized duffle bag from a stack of several others just like it, and threw it to Rock. He carefully caught it and Dutch approached him and slid the zipper open. Revy joined them and commented, "We came all this fuckin' way for one fuckin' bag?"

"We no cut product here," the foreman curtly replied. "Abrego cut back in Roanapur."

"Bag like this'll probably yield five times its current value when that asshole's done with it," Dutch remarked.

Revy scoffed, still upset at their situation, "Whatever. Are we fuckin' done here?"

"I think so," Dutch replied. He turned back to the foreman and asked, "Anything else?"

"Go on, get fuck out here! You contaminate product!"

The Lagoon Company quickly headed out of the hut and Revy commented, "What a fuckin' asshole."

"Same as the fucker we're delivering to," Dutch replied. They piled into the jeep and Dutch spoke once more, "Come on, Benny-boy; take us home."

Benny adjusted his side-view mirror, when activity behind him caught his attention. Several men seemed to be watching them, and he further tweaked the mirror to get a better look. Since the jeep hadn't moved after giving the okay to go, Dutch asked, "Somethin' wrong?"

Benny's eyes narrowed as he replied, "Five guys in that jeep back there." Dutch adjusted his mirror, as Benny continued, "They've been watching us since we got here. Since we walked out, they've been on their radios."

Revy smiled just slightly as she spoke, "You smell it, Dutch?"

Dutch lit a cigarette and quickly exhaled a puff of smoke before replying, "I hate it when you're right, Revy."

Not wanting to turn around and give up that they knew they were being watched, Rock asked, "Somebody want to fill me in?"

"I'll bet my boat we're looking at a rival Cartel."

"But how'd they know we were here?" Rock asked.

"Don't matter," Dutch casually answered. "I've heard of shit like this but I've never actually fuckin' seen it; rival cartels who think they deserve their countries drugs more than some other asshole."

Dutch pondered what to do for a moment, and Benny finally asked, "What's the word, Dutch?"

"Pull out of here nice and slow, Benny-boy," Dutch replied. As the jeep slowly progressed through the field and into the woods, Dutch glanced over his right shoulder towards his gunslinger and spoke, "Stay sharp, Revy."

"Locked and loaded, Dutchy," Revy replied with a smile as she discreetly unsnapped her holsters. Just looking on her smiling lips, her barely exposed clenched teeth, a chill went up Rock's spine. No matter how many times he'd seen her become gleeful at the prospect of a gunfight, it never got any easier to watch.

"These guys try any shit, don't get fancy," Dutch ordered. "Slowin'em down, or stopping them altogether is better than trying to take each and every one of'em out."

"Relax, boss-man," Revy calmly replied. "These fuckers try anything, I'll-"

As they pulled onto the main road, the sight of a half-dozen approaching jeeps interrupted Revy, and Benny shouted, "Fuck! Hang on to something!" He slammed his left foot onto the emergency brake, and cut the wheel hard left. Before the jeep had completely turned, he disengaged the brake and forced the shifter into first, despite the protests of the gearbox. While Benny was the most mild-mannered of the Lagoon Company, he _did_ enjoy a good car chase. A smile appeared on his lips and he shouted, "Here we go!"

All four of the jeep's tires ripped at the loose gravel, and they quickly got to speed.

"You two alright back there?" Dutch shouted over his shoulder. Before they could even respond the gunfire commenced. "Fuck!" Dutch growled as he pulled his 629 from its holster. "Revy?"

A bullet skimmed the side of the jeep just beside Rock, and immediately Revy's heart jumped. "Rock! Get the fuck down!" Revy roared as she drew her Cutlass. "Ready, boss-man?"

"Remember; take out their vehicles, not them!" Dutch reminded.

"Got it!" Revy shouted. Taking notice that Rock was still cowering in a seated position, she grabbed him by his tie and pulled him down to the floor of the jeep. She moved the duffle bag behind him as somewhat of a bullet stop, and ordered, "Stay the fuck down, dumb-ass!" Another bullet came a bit too for comfort, and finally Revy got to work. She came out of cover with a smile on her lips, and quietly muttered to herself, "Dance for Miss Rebecca."

She opened fire on the encroaching jeeps, and began whittling down their numbers, flattening the front tires of one jeep, then another. Apparently their assailants finished a round of reloading and opened fire on her once again. She ducked back to the floor of the jeep and reloaded her Cutlass. She clicked the slide lock on the gun in her left hand with her pointer finger, and looked up only to find Rock staring at her. She paused her frantic motions for a moment, and Rock calmly spoke over the noise of the jeep and scattered gunfire, "Hi."

She chuckled just slightly as she clicked the magazine in place, "Hey." A bullet ripped through the seatback above her, and her smile vanished. An animalistic growl manifested in her lungs, and she let it out as she stood and opened fire once again, "Motherfuckers!"

* * *

_Just so we're clear, our bad guy's last name is pronounced "Hey-zeus". You know, as in father of Apollo, Mt. Olympus?_


	5. Chapter 5

Roberta brought what was once Diego's personal limo to a halt in a small lot, beside the port office of one Captain Jose Cantillo. Beside her, Garcia sat looking excited, nervous, and a bit content all at once. Taking notice of his expression, Roberta asked, "Is everything alright, young master?"

He turned to face her, and the awkward tinge in his expression faded, leaving him with a smile on his lips. He was young and a bit unsure of the strides he took in his innocent courtship of Roberta. Still, staring into her beautiful blue eyes, he couldn't help but speak from his heart, "Everything's fine, my sweet rose."

Roberta's eyes widened slightly at hearing him call her by this name once again. She knew whatever this was between them, it was wrong. Someone so young shouldn't love someone so much older. Worse still, that she felt those feelings for him as well, it wasn't normal. However, were either of them citizens in the normal world? Mere weeks ago had she left a trail of bodies in the wake of her vengeance, and in just the past few days, Garcia had matured from student, to head of family.

Though she knew how terribly wrong it was, she was no longer in control as she leaned down to the young master and placed a quick and delicate kiss on his lips. It was very brief, and she so quickly collected herself and turned away from him in shame. "I'm sorry, young master; I shouldn't have-"

"It's alright, Roberta," Garcia interrupted with closed eyes. Butterflies flew in his stomach as he quietly continued, "I don't believe that love has an age of admission." Slowly she turned to face him, and while he lacked the courage to face her, he took a deep breath and laid his cards out, "I've been trying to figure out these feelings since Roanapur."

"Feelings?" Roberta asked.

His eyes met hers once again and he answered, "My feelings for you, Roberta." Her expression blanked slightly, and her eyes blinked, almost as though she'd forced them to do so. "I _am_ in love with you."

"_No,"_ She thought. _"This can't…"_ She struggled with her thoughts, _"…I can't let this happen."_ She put an assertive undertone in her voice as she spoke, "Master Garcia-"

But again, he interrupted her, his tone laced with determination, "Tell me you feel nothing for me, Roberta." Her eyes doubled in size as panic set in, and again he spoke, "Tell me you feel nothing for me, and I'll never speak my feelings for you again."

She was frozen stiff. This was it, she could tell one lie, and this feeling that plagued her could disappear. For some reason though, her tongue didn't listen to her conscience. She blinked her eyes, and managed to speak the only two words that seemed to come out involuntarily, "Master Garcia-"

He leaned over the armrest and pressed his lips to hers. She hated how good his lips felt against hers. That his touch melted all of her worries and fears away. Her eyes gently closed, and a few seconds later, Garcia pulled away from her. She remained completely still as he left her, and at seeing her in an obvious state of contentment, a smile formed on Garcia's lips. "Well?" He quietly asked bringing her to open her eyes.

Her fingers rose to her lips and again she spoke, "Master Garcia…" No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to tell this lie. At a loss, she finally continued her thought as best she could, "…I need time, young master."

"I'm in no rush, Roberta," Garcia replied with a smile.

Captain Cantillo stepped out of the small port office, and called out, "Garcia?"

Garcia's attention immediately turned to the Captain, and Roberta adjusted her attire once again in an effort to occupy her hands. She struggled to brush off what had just happened, and put on the sweetest smile she could find as she asked, "Ready, young master?"

Again taking a few seconds to get lost in the details of her face, Garcia smiled and nodded, and they stepped from the car.

* * *

In Jesus Escamillo's mansion, several moving men rolled a rather large statue through the halls on a dolly. Jesus donned a different white suit and followed them as they walked through his home. Growing impatient of the numerous close calls the moving men had made with the walls, he barked, "Would you fucking bitches watch where the fuck you are going?"

The dolly the statue rested on tapped one of the walls and Jesus exploded, "FUCK! What the fuck, is fucking…" his phone rang bringing him to stop in the dining room and retrieve his phone from his pocket. He dropped his forehead into his palm and quietly muttered, "Aye dios mio, these fucking punto bitches." He clicked the send button and spoke, "What?" He perked up slightly and sniffed as he pinched his nose. "Where are you?" A pause while he waited for an answer. He raised his watch into view and replied, "We have men at La Salina, right?" He rolled his eyes and barked, "Because that's where I want you to fucking push them! Give them room, but make sure they go where we want them to." Again a brief pause and he rolled his eyes, "Then get Ruiz and his boys to fucking help you!"

He flipped the phone closed and dropped it onto the table. From further down the hall, he once again heard the sound of the dolly scraping a wall and roared, "You stupid fucking bitches!"

* * *

"What the fuck is going on, Dutch?" Revy asked from the back of the jeep. The onslaught of the rival cartel had faded, but every time Benny slowed down, more jeeps seemed to reappear behind them. However, those that did show failed to take any violent action.

Dutch checked his side view mirror and replied, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say these fuckers are corralling us."

Benny checked his watch and commented, "Far north as we are now, we'll never make our rendezvous with the ship."

"Dammit," Dutch replied. He retrieved a port map from the glove box and gave it a quick look. His finger ran along the route they were on, and followed it up and into Venezuela. He looked back to his side-view, and a single jeep slowly approached.

"Dutch?" Revy asked, looking for an order as to what to do.

Dutch turned back to the map and commented, "Benny-boy, slow us down a bit and let a few of'em catch up." He looked over his shoulder and gave his gun an order, "Once you get a few lined up, take'em down; see if maybe you can block the road."

"What about our rendezvous?" Rock asked from the backseat, now sitting up once again since the gunfire had ceased.

"I'm gonna put in a call to Captain Delgado, see if he's got any friends here," Dutch replied.

"Here?" Rock stammered. "We don't even know where-"

"We're in Venezuela, Rock," Dutch interrupted silencing Rock and garnering Benny and Revy's complete attention. Knowing what was on their minds, Dutch addressed their fears as he put the satellite phone to his ear, "She's out there somewhere; I just hope our luck tonight isn't _that_ bad."

At the Port of Tumaco, the last of the containers was just coming off Captain Delgado's ship. The Captain entered his office, and took his time getting to the ringing phone on his desk, "Delgado."

"_Hey Captain,"_ Dutch replied over the wind noise. _"I think we're fucked."_

Delgado closed his eyes and took a seat in his ratty old chair. He leaned forward and his hand passed over his face as he asked, "Who'd you piss off now?"

"_Not sure. My best guess right now is a rival cartel," _Dutch replied.

"Rival cartel?" Delgado asked. "How did anyone even know you were in Colombia?"

"_Don't know and don't care," _Dutch replied._ "They've got us on the run as we speak. I'm just shootin' from the hip, but by the looks of it they're corralling us up towards Lake Maracaibo."_

Delgado checked his watch and asked, "Maracaibo? Dutch where the hell are you?"

"_On some fuckin' back road in Venezuela," _Dutch replied bringing the Captain to close his eyes. _"Once we get into a populated area, we should be able to lose them, but with no destination they're gonna chase us right into the fuckin' ocean. You know anyone at any of the ports up there?"_

Delgado perked up and shuffled through things on his desk as he replied, "Yeah, but he's not like us, Dutch. He only handles legitimate shipments."

"_Think he'll take us through Panama?"_

Delgado widened his eyes and gave his head a slight tilt as he spoke, "On his container ship? I'll see what I can do. Make sure you can hear the phone ring."

"_Roger that,"_ Dutch replied before hanging up.

"Dutch!" Revy called from the backseat.

The boss turned to see what she wanted, and saw she had allowed four jeeps to close in on them. He observed the field for just a moment and asked, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Revy smiled slightly and replied, "Eight-ball, corner pocket." Without another word, she took aim at the lead jeep's front tires and shot them out, first the passenger's side, then the driver's side. The front end plowed into the dirt, hooking the jeep into a spin, and taking out the jeeps on its both sides. As the tumbling cars came to rest, they had successfully blocked the road. Revy smiled and fell back into her seat. She ejected the empty magazine from the Cutlass in her right hand and noticed Rock staring at her, impressed as usual. She slid a fresh magazine into the grip, and offered him just the slightest hint of a hungry grin as she racked the slide.

"That ought to keep them back for at least a little while," Dutch commented before turning back to the map. "Benny, see if you can head east and find us a main road. I've got an idea where we're at, but planning our route is going to be impossible on these fuckin' back roads."

Rock leaned forward so he wouldn't have to scream, and asked, "What's the plan, Dutch?"

"Delgado's gonna try and grab us a ride out of Lake Maracaibo. Hopefully he finds someone who doesn't mind the risk."

* * *

In Captain Jose Cantillo's office, Roberta patiently waited while Garcia and the Captain discussed the shipment. On top of being morally wrong, her relationship with Garcia was beginning to become an issue of concentration as well. She'd never known these feelings, while in such a calm state. The few of her random indiscretions had always been fueled in some way. What she felt for Garcia though, it wasn't something raw or primal; it was love, in its purest and simplest form.

The details flew back and forth between Garcia and the Captain, never escalating in volume or anger. Questions were asked, answers were given; the whole exchange progressed extremely well. The Captain couldn't help but be impressed with Garcia's knowledge of the business, "I have to say, Garcia; for you to have picked all of this up so quickly, your father would be proud."

"Thank you, sir."

A ring emanated from the Captain's pants pocket and he quickly retrieved his phone. Observing the number on the ID, he smiled and asked, "Would you mind?"

"Go ahead," Garcia replied.

The Captain headed into the next room to keep his conversation quiet and answered, "Delgado, how in the hell are you?"

"_Jose, I'm glad I got you."_

Slight concern came across his face at the tone in Delgado's voice, and Cantillo asked, "Is everything alright?"

"_Are you busy?"_

"Working on something, why; what's going on?"

"_I have four coming in hot to Maracaibo. I need to get them on the Pacific side of Panama tonight."_

Cantillo checked his watch and asked, "Where are they now?"

Delgado checked the primitive computer at his desk, picking up the GPS signal from the phone he gave to Dutch, _"Looks like they just passed through Valera. Where are you docked?"_

"La Salina, but I've got a shipment going out in just a few hours for one of my best clients."

"_You've got to help me out here, Jose," _Delgado pleaded._ "You can be back through Panama tomorrow morning. Can you see if your client has any room in his schedule?"_

Jose closed his eyes and threw his head back. He took a deep breath and replied, "Give me a minute."

He placed the phone to his chest and turned the corner back into his office. He locked on the young master and asked, "Garcia, I have a slight problem."

"Is everything alright with our shipment?" Garcia asked.

"Oh yes, _we're_ all set," the Captain reassured. "However, a friend has called me with an urgent favor. If I were to take the job, I'd need to make a run through Panama tonight. I wouldn't get to the Port of Victoria until late Sunday evening."

Garcia thought on it for a moment. He knew the factory they were shipping to would be closed for the weekend, so provided he could alter the pickup schedule at Victoria, everything should fall into place perfectly. He smiled slightly and replied, "It shouldn't be a problem Captain, so long as you can make it to the Port by Sunday night, so it can arrive at the factory Monday morning."

The Captain gave Garcia a smile and turned to Roberta, "Smart and courteous, this kid's gonna do just fine."

Roberta offered a knowing smile in return, and the Captain turned around the corner. He raised the phone to his ear and spoke, "Alright, I've got a window till 2am. If your friends can get here by then, they've got a ride."

"_You're a life saver, Cantillo. I'll be in touch."_

Delgado hung up on his end and quickly started dialing once again.

* * *

In the Lagoon Company's jeep, Dutch's head rested in his palm and he called out, just loud enough to not overstrain his voice, "Just do me a favor and don't say 'I told you so', Revy?"

Now on a main road running through Santa Rosa, the Cartel jeeps were replaced with two Police cars. Listening to the wail of the sirens in their wake, Revy's cheek rested on her knuckles, and she casually replied, "Not much of a point now is there?"

"What I don't get is why they aren't just seizing us," Rock interjected. "They just keep pushing."

"They're doing exactly what I said they were; they're fuckin' herding us," Dutch replied. "Only trick now is going to be getting away from them long enough to ditch this jeep and make a run for the port." The phone in his lap rang and Dutch hastily answered, "Gimme good news, my man."

"_As long as you can make it to La Salina by 2am, you're in," _Delgado replied, bring Dutch to check his maps.

Running his finger along the shipping routes, he found the port on the map and tapped at it with his finger, "Just outside Cabimas, right?"

"_That's the one. How're you doing?"_

Dutch checked his side-view once again to see another Police car joined the chase, "I been better, now we got cops on our ass."

"_I think you were right, Dutch; these Cartels each own a bit of the Police," _Delgado replied._ "What are you planning to do?"_

"Sort of playing that by ear at the moment," Dutch replied. "Once we get to La Salina, who are we looking for?"

"_Captain Jose Cantillo. People say he looks like my twin, but we're not related."_

Dutch grinned just slightly, "You mean I'm gonna have to stare at your ugly mug even longer on this trip?"

"_You're welcome, and Dutch…"_

"Yeah?"

"…_be careful."_

"See you in Panama, old friend."


	6. Chapter 6

On the edge of the dock, Garcia and Roberta stood side-by-side watching as the pallets of Lanthanide ore were loaded onto the ship. While Garcia donned a bright orange hardhat, Roberta stood simply with her hands crossed in front of her, watching every swing of the pallet. The pallet contacted the ship's deck a few moments later, and Roberta finally averted her gaze to Garcia, a slight smile gracing her lips. She was proud of how well he had handled everything, and still feeling a bit light after their ordeal in the car, she spoke her feelings aloud, "You did quite well, Master Garcia."

Garcia turned to her and asked, "I'm sorry?"

The noise on the dock kept him from hearing her clearly, and she spoke once again, just a bit louder, "You handled everything very well, young master."

Having heard her that time, he smiled and replied, "Thank you, Roberta."

Several attendants on the dock hooked the crane to the next pallet of ore, and again, their cycle of observation began.

* * *

The Lagoon Company was nearing Cabimas, now with just one Police car behind them. Dutch kept his eyes locked on his side-view mirror, while Rock was turned in his seat looking behind them. The car that followed had switched its siren off, but kept its lights on. Rock turned to Revy only to find she had fallen asleep in the silence. Just as he was about to wake her, he remembered how big a mistake that might be, and instead turned to the boss, "Hey Dutch, what do you make of this?"

"Haven't got a clue, Rock. The other two cars turned off miles ago. I'd like to think maybe they're giving up, but that's a fuckin' pipe dream if I've ever heard one," Dutch replied before lighting a cigarette. He took a deep drag and continued, "My guess is, we're heading right where they fuckin' want us. I'm just hoping we'll be able to lose them in Cabimas and make this rendezvous."

Rock turned back to the single Police car and Dutch finally looked up. Taking in the few signs posted on the road, he looked back to the map and ordered Benny, "This next turn off coming up, take it. That ought to put us right in the middle of Cabimas. If we can lose this asshole on the turn off, we can ditch this jeep and go the rest of the way on foot."

"Got it," Benny replied.

Dutch looked over his shoulder and called, "Revy?"

"She's passed out, Dutch," Rock replied.

"Well I suggest you wake her ass up; we're makin' our move."

Rock turned to her and of all the trouble that surrounded them this evening, waking Revy was something he didn't want to add to the mix. He undid his seatbelt and slid over next to her. He buckled himself into the middle seat and leaned up against her.

"Here we go!" Benny roared.

Rock reached across Revy's lap to hold onto the seat, and keep them in place. It was just another instance of him thinking the last thing he should have, _"We've been sweating like dogs out here, how does she still smell so nice?" _Dutch braced himself as Benny feinted to the left. Revy groaned slightly and Benny gave the wheel a hard tug back to the right. The weight shifted from right to left, putting all the weight on the tires that needed the most traction, and the jeep bit the road, just barely making the corner.

As the jeep straightened out, Revy flopped slightly in her seat, but never woke up. "Everyone alright?" Dutch asked.

"We're good," Rock replied. "She didn't even wake up."

Dutch checked his side-view to find the single Police car had spun out in the middle of the road in order to pursue them. "Benny, get us off this road before that asshole catches up. Soon as we find civilization, we'll go on foot."

"Got it," Benny replied.

* * *

"We got'em boss," A lookout spoke into a radio as he watched the Lagoon Company abandon their jeep.

"Keep your eyes on them. I'm going to have Ruiz and Sanchez send their boys in," Jesus replied on the deck of his extravagant home.

The lookout adjusted his binoculars and replied, "I don't know that it'll be necessary boss, they look like they're heading right where we want them to."

"Even if they are, I want _them_ to make the grab," Jesus replied.

"Whatever you say boss."

Jesus ended the call and dialed once again. He place the phone back to his ear and spoke, "They're coming your way, keep your eyes on them would you?"

* * *

Hidden by the crowds that flooded the streets of Cabimas, the Lagoon Company made their way to the Port of La Salina. Dutch and Benny led the way, Rock carried the duffle bag in the middle, and Revy followed behind him.

"We're almost there, folks. Just a little further," Dutch commented to his crew.

"I don't suppose now is a bad fuckin' time to remind you how great this night has been so far, right Dutch?" Revy called from the back.

"Nope, it ain't a good fuckin' time; try me again later with that one," Dutch barked back.

Rock looked over his shoulder and asked, just loud enough for Revy to hear, "Are you alright?"

Her temper on the highest of levels, she didn't think twice before barking back, "Why the fuck wouldn't I be?"

"Just checking," Rock replied with a sigh.

"I'm fuckin' fine, Rock," Revy added. "Just keep your eyes peeled."

"I think we're…" Rock lost his train of thought as he observed a group of Police making their way towards them from the cross street, "…fucked."

Dutch heard Rock's comment and turned to see what Rock was talking about. At the sight of the cops, Dutch barked, "Fuck! Let's move it people!" They took off towards the port, but what had started as just a few officers quickly turned into a lot of cops. The city seemed to come to an end, and the port appeared before them. "Here we go; Rock, Revy, head to the Port Master's office. Benny and I will head out towards the docks."

"Dutch are you-"

"Now Rock!" Dutch interrupted.

Revy grabbed Rock by his tie and roared, "Let's go, dumb-ass!"

* * *

"We're all loaded up, Garcia," Captain Cantillo informed the young master.

"Thanks so much for all of your help, Captain," Garcia replied.

"It's no problem, I'm just glad to be working for your family once again."

"_My family,"_ Garcia thought. He missed his father, missed the family life he once had. However, at the prospect of the new life he would soon lead, Garcia couldn't help but feel excitement. He looked to Roberta who stood smiling just slightly as she typically had around Garcia. Being a thoughtful young man, Garcia asked, "Is everything alright with your other shipment?"

The Captain checked his watch, and replied, "They haven't arrived yet, but they've got some time still."

"Captain?" A man called from the end of the yard, grabbing the Captain's attention.

He turned back to Garcia and Roberta, "If you would, please wait for me in the office, I just have a few papers for you to sign and you can be on your way."

"Certainly," Roberta replied with a nod. They proceeded to the office, but as they neared the door, Garcia stopped and turned to Roberta. Immediately curious, she asked, "Young master?"

"I'd like to do this part on my own, Roberta," Garcia replied.

"Young master-"

He smiled and reassured her, "I'll be fine. I'd just like to handle this on my own."

She could have protested, insisted that she stay with him, but a part of her felt he needed this. She smiled, and nodded, "As you wish, young master. I'll wait in the car."

"Thank you, sweet rose."

Roberta's cheeks blushed ever so slightly. She only wished she could have ripped the wings from the butterflies that flew in her stomach. She collected herself and replied, "I'll be right around the corner if you need me."

* * *

From a lookout tower, two of Jesus' men kept Revy and Rock in their sights. One of them quickly scanned the dock taking note of the Police presence and commented, "Here come Ruiz' boys." He again turned, this time towards the office Garcia and Roberta stood beside. He dropped his binoculars as Roberta walked to the car and quietly asked, "Is that Garcia Lovelace?"

"What?" The other man asked as he turned his gaze. Taking Garcia into view, he spoke, "Fuck, if we can get the drugs, and the kid, we can ransom him for a fucking fortune."

"I'll call the boss," the other man replied.

"Fuck it…" the second man spoke as he raised his radio to his mouth, "…we'll take the both of them and sort it out later. Worse comes to worse, the kid just disappears." He squeezed the switch on his radio and spoke, "Unit 3…"

* * *

Just as Garcia ducked into the dock office, Revy and Rock rounded a series of shipping containers and headed right for it. The sounds of sirens grew closer and closer, and Revy turned back to check on Rock. Seeing he was falling behind, she roared, "Move your fucking ass, Rock!"

Squinting as she approached the office, she saw a single cop run into the office, and drew one of her Cutlass. In the office, Garcia turned to the officer, and before he could speak, the officer slammed his gun across the young master's face, not knocking him out, but subduing him. In the Lovelace limo, Roberta's eyes widened and she sprung from the car, dual drawing her Sistemas as she approached the corner of the dock office.

As they came around the corners of the office, Revy and Roberta nearly crashed into one another. They both gasped and took a step back from one another, and Revy drew her other Cutlass in the process. "You!" They roared simultaneously. Roberta briefly turned an eye to check in the office, only to see straight through the open rear door where Garcia was being thrown into the back of a Police car. Her eyes widened in panic and she swung her right arm in the direction of the door, and opened fire on the car.

"_What the fuck?"_ Revy thought, when it hit her that Rock hadn't caught up. She turned to witness the same sight Roberta just had, only Rock was being taken, "Fuck! Rock!" She too opened fire to no avail.

* * *

Still resting on his deck, Jesus had his phone pressed to his ear as one of his men reported, "We've got them."

Finally, a smile appeared on his lips and he replied, "Bring them to me."

* * *

Both of them almost out of ammo, Revy and Roberta turned their guns back on one another. While Revy was fuming, she remembered how her last encounter with Roberta ended, _"Dammit."_

Her eyes narrowed, and Roberta would be the first one to speak, "This is your fault!"

"My fault?" Revy barked. "How the fuck do you figure that, four-eyes?"

"Trouble follows you and your friends, and now you've brought your troubles and your problems into _our_ lives."

"Like you're one to fucking talk, bitch! Forget what happened a few weeks back?" Revy raised her scarred and healing hand into view as she continued, "I took a 7.62 through my fuckin' hand thanks to you and your little fuckin' master." At hearing her speak poorly of Garcia, Roberta ground her teeth, "Don't forget they took one of mine too."

Roberta's blood boiled in her veins. She'd just begun to know happiness, was all-but-resolved to give into the young master's pleas, and now, he had been taken from her. The bloodhound brandished her teeth, and her tone sank into madness, "Less talk, more blood."

Just as they squeezed their triggers, Dutch's voice interrupted them, "Let's just take it easy ladies."

"These matters are not your concern," Roberta denounced.

"For once, you and I are in total fuckin' agreement, bitch," Revy added with a smile, her lust for a rematch insatiable at this point.

Benny stood beside Dutch as the boss once again spoke, "You two start shooting this place up, those cops are gonna be back of their own accord. Once that happens we can say goodbye to Rock, and you can say goodbye to your master." Dutch's words brought Roberta to turn her eyes to him for just a moment before turning them back onto Revy. "Once we get our people back, you two can shoot at each other till you're blue in the face, but right now, the only way we're getting them back is by working together."

Dutch had the oddest way of handling tense moments like this. Perhaps it was the tone in his voice, or maybe the care-free finesse he gave to his words that made them that much more potent. Whatever it was, it had worked for Roberta who slowly lowered her weapons. Dutch turned to Revy and asked, "Revy?"

She was so close to losing it. She knew that in that moment, she could have taken just one shot and put Roberta down for good. Her fingers twitched on their triggers and Dutch again barked, "Revy!"

Finally, her quaking hands descended to her sides and Dutch felt a sigh of relief the likes of which he'd never known. "Now that, that's taken care of-"

"What the…?" A disheveled Captain Cantillo asked of the guns Roberta held.

"Captain Cantillo I presume?" Dutch asked.

Struggling to come back to reality, the Captain answered, "Yeah?"

"Name's Dutch. I believe Captain Delgado told you to expect us?"

"That's right but-"

Because it was such a large and easily sighted item, Dutch left the satellite phone in the jeep. He stepped to the Captain, placed a hand on his shoulder and asked, "I'm gonna need to borrow a phone."

* * *

"What the fuck do you mean someone took the fucking drugs?" Abrego roared.

The Captain's phone pressed to his ear, Dutch replied, "Calm the fuck down, Abrego; you know this shit wasn't our fault."

"I give you the jobs because you don't fuck up, Dutch! I've got buyers waiting on that shit! When you fuck up, I look bad! Now what the fuck am I supposed to do?"

"Do you know anyone back here who'd be looking to get this shit out from under you?"

"Cartels do what Cartels do, Dutch. Someone hears something's on the move, maybe they try and get their hands on it."

"Of course," Dutch sarcastically replied. "So you got no idea who took my man-"

"I don't give a fuck about that stupid little shit! What about my fucking drugs?"

"My boy has your drugs, senor; you want them back, you're gonna have to help me get him back first."

"I don't have the fucking resources, Dutch! I haven't set foot in South America for ten fucking years; I have no idea who's running things!"

"Fucking shit," Dutch quietly muttered before hanging up on him.

"What the fuck did that asshole say?" Revy impatiently asked.

"He has no idea who took them."

Her fists balled up tight enough that her fingernails dug into her palms, Roberta spoke, "We could have followed them! We could have-"

Dutch turned to her and interrupted, "Gotten shot by those cops. Those guys work for the cartel, lady. We go chasin' after the cops, guns blazing; we're not gonna get very far."

Still she argued, "We could have-"

"I know you want to get him back…" Revy interrupted. Dutch and Benny turned to her in somewhat of a state of shock at her calm tone and demeanor. She lit a cigarette and took a drag before continuing, "…but the boss is right. There wasn't a goddamned thing we could'a done. At the end of the day, we might've gotten close, but they would've turned us into swiss fuckin' cheese."

"Revy?" Dutch asked.

She exhaled a mouthful of smoke and replied simply, "Balalaika."

"What the hell are you talkin' about, girl?"

"Sis is the only one with the connections and resources to find out who took them, and find out fast."

"Don't even tell me you're thinking about raiding these fuckers?" Dutch replied. The look on Revy's face, the hollows that filled her eyes and the blank expression on her face was as good as any spoken answer. "Awe, HELL fuckin' no, with the luck we've been having?"

Revy smiled just slightly as she spoke, "What'sa matter, Dutchy? All outta optimism?"

A warm feeling grew within Dutch and in seconds, he was convinced. A smile appeared on his lips and he commented, "Times like this I don't know who's crazier; you, Rock, or me for ever listening to the both of you."

His thumb tapped away at the phone and Captain Cantillo finally worked up the courage to ask, "What's going on?"

Dutch pressed the phone to his ear and replied, "Relax Captain. Where we come from, two AM is still a long ways away." The person on the other end picked up and Dutch greeted them, "Miss Balalaika…"

* * *

_Here seems like a good place to express my personal displeasure with the Cartel/Police chase. I never could get it completely sorted out, and it still irks the hell out of me. Whether it be the length or...IDK...it just bugs me. Hopefully it wasn't a deal breaker :(_


	7. Chapter 7

Garcia Lovelace stood at the barred and locked window of the room he'd been thrown in. Though he was undoubtedly a hostage, at least Jesus had left the young master unrestrained in a bedroom, as opposed to bound in a basement. He looked out over the compound to get his bearings, though there wasn't much to pinpoint. He knew they hadn't gone far from where he was taken, but clouds had rolled into the night sky, and the few lights throughout the compound were switched off this evening. A rumble in the clouds and a flash of lightning broke the stillness in the air, finally bringing Garcia to step away from the window.

His fingers tended to his bloody lip, and just as he fell onto the bed, the door opened bringing him to get to his feet, ready to defend himself if need be. However, no danger was to fall on him, Jesus' men were simply throwing Rock into the room with Garcia. As the door closed behind him, Rock pushed himself off of the floor, and as he looked up, he caught his first glimpse of the young master. "Senor, Rock?" Garcia asked.

"Garcia?" Rock asked with his surprise written on his face. _"Revy was right; sometimes it really just doesn't pay to be optimistic."_

Garcia made his was over to Rock and helped him to his feet. Once standing, Rock asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know I'm afraid. One minute I was standing in the Captain's office at the dock, the next a Police officer hit me and threw me into his car. What about you? What are you doing here?"

Rock flinched slightly, not entirely comfortable with the fact that he and the crew were on a job moving drugs. He tried to cover things up as he spoke, "We were…" unfortunately he was more than a bit disheveled and couldn't quite get something out quick enough, "…doing a job for a Cartel in Roanapur."

"The people that hired you to kidnap me?" Garcia asked, somewhat nonchalantly.

"Sort of," Rock replied sheepishly.

"I see."

Garcia walked back to the bed and took a seat. Rock followed him, and stood across from his hunched over form. Clearly there was something on Garcia's mind; Rock just wasn't sure how far he should pry. He gently placed a hand on his shoulder and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm afraid for Roberta."

While he was terrified at the prospect of seeing Roberta again, just the mention of her name calmed him slightly. In the moment, your whole life can go blank, but just hearing her name brought Revy and the rest of Lagoon back to mind as well. A confident grin appeared on Rock's lips as he asked, "Why are you afraid for her? She's traveled much further to find you."

"I'm afraid because I don't want her doing the things she'll be forced to do, in order to bring me home."

Rock took a seat beside Garcia and asked, "You really care for her, don't you?"

Garcia's cheeks turned a light shade of red and he too grinned, "You could say that." He turned to face Rock for a moment, before turning back to face the floor, and asked, "Senor Rock, is it okay to fall in love with someone, you know is wrong for you?"

"What?" Rock asked, flinching halfway across the bed. Garcia's asking was completely innocent, but the parallels he immediately drew between Garcia falling in love with Roberta, and him falling for Revy were undeniable. Rock collected himself just enough to ask, "Are you in love with Roberta?"

Again Garcia turned to face Rock as he asked, "Are you in love with the crazy lady you work with?"

* * *

"Nice place, four-eyes," Revy muttered as she followed Dutch and Benny, who followed Roberta into the Lovelace home. After phoning Balalaika from the dock, Dutch and company used the time Balalaika needed to gather information, to stock up on supplies. Lucky for them, Roberta kept a rather well stocked armory, safe from the young master's eyes of course.

Roberta turned back to Revy, not requiring much in the way of motivation to get into a fight, when Dutch warned, "We're guests in her home, Revy; try to show a little respect."

"Right," Revy replied. She'd been working so hard to remain calm after Rock was taken. She might never understand the void he somehow filled in her life, but since his life had become a part of hers, she wasn't ready to let him go just yet. Dealing with those feelings though, it brought her actions to become even more unpredictable.

As they walked through the lavish home, Fabiola appeared in one of the doorways, catching a glimpse of Roberta first, "You've returned, Matron. Is everything…" Dutch, Benny and Revy rounded the corner behind her, immediately bringing Fabiola to draw a pistol from beneath her apron, "…what the hell are they doing here? Where is Master Garcia?"

While Revy almost instantaneously thought of nearly a dozen derogatory or negative things to bark at Fabiola, she somehow kept herself quiet. Perhaps a part of her knew this wasn't the time for jokes. Maybe she just didn't want Dutch to yell at her again. Or just maybe, she was too worried about Rock to concern herself with the trivial quips that entered her mind.

"It's alright, Fabiola," Roberta reassured. As she felt herself having to speak what happened aloud, it only became more real to her. She finally worked up the courage to explain what had happened, "A Cartel has taken Master Garcia."

Panic washed over Fabiola and she asked, "Taken? But how-"

Roberta smiled just slightly as her head sank in disappointment with herself, "It would seem that the harder I try to protect him, the greater I manage to fail him."

"Matron-"

"No," Roberta interrupted. "We've taken the steps necessary to find him. Now all there is to do it get armed, and pray to Santa Maria."

Finally, Revy found herself incapable of keeping quiet, "Pray to whoever the fuck you like; none of that bullshit is gonna do us any good once we find the fuckers that took our people."

"Your people?" Fabiola barked.

"They took Rock too," Revy replied. "You remember Rock, right? The guy who helped you find your precious Matron, 'the biggest piece of shit in Roanapur'?" Fabiola was stunned to silence, and Revy asked as she advanced further into the house. "Roberta?" Revy properly called grabbing everyone's attention. Roberta locked eyes with her for the first time since their confrontation at the docks, but as she observed Revy's smiling face, it hit her all at once; they weren't all that different after all. "Where do you keep the bullets?"

Roberta too smiled, a grin not all that dissimilar from Revy's most twisted smiles, and replied, "Follow me."

Just as they walked off to the supply closet, the phone in Dutch's pocket -Captain Cantillo's phone- rang. He pressed it to his ear and answered, "Miss Balalaika."

"_I must apologize, Dutch. If I hadn't given that job to the Italian's, you never would have had to deal with any of this, and I wouldn't have to explain to Chang why his weapon shipment arrived light."_

"Business is business, ma'am. Our rates are higher than the Italian's-"

"_And your work commands that premium," _Balalaika finished for him.

"Like I said, if you managed to get us what we needed, that work is on me next time."

"_You're too kind, Dutch. Frankly, I'm amazed Two-hands let this happen in the first place. Her and Rock seem to be almost inseparable lately."_

Dutch watched Revy walk into the supply room with Roberta as he commented, "Sometimes I wonder just what the hell happens when the two of them are alone."

"_And?" _Balalaika asked with more than just a hint of curiosity in her tone.

"I figure it's probably in my best interest to stay out of it. If whatever it is becomes a problem down the road, I'll cross that bridge when the time comes."

"_Truly you are wise beyond your years, Dutch."_

"What can I say; a boy can learn a lot in his dealings with someone such as yourself," Dutch replied, sure to grease the wheels ever-so-slightly.

"_Oh come now, you're making me blush."_

"So, about that information I asked you for?"

"_Ah yes, back to business," _Balalaika sighed. She opened a folder on her desk and continued,_ "Your target is a man by the name of Jesus Escamillo. Like Rosarita, he too was a former member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia."_

"So how'd he end up in the drug trafficking business?"

"_He became addicted to pain killers during his tenure with FARC. After failing one-too-many drug screenings, he was dishonorably discharged, and has since become a slave to the drugs that humiliated him. His drug addiction and training have made him one of the most feared men in all of South America. He has nearly half-a-thousand subordinates under his immediate command…" _

Dutch smiled slightly as he thought to himself, _"Not quite after Revy's little shooting gallery."_

"…_and his compound is well fortified. Once inside, I'd imagine Two-hands and Rosarita should have little problem dispatching everyone in their way; getting in however stands to be the problem."_

"I see," Dutch replied. After a few moments, he took down the coordinates of Jesus' home, and said his goodbyes, "I appreciate your help, ma'am."

"_My pleasure, Dutch. While I do feel somewhat guilty about all this, the promise of a free job on behalf of your crew leaves me feeling quite nice."_

Dutch smiled, "It'd be my pleasure, Kapitan."

"_Good luck, Dutch."_

Balalaika hung up and as he took the phone from his ear, Benny asked Dutch, "Well?"

"We got our coordinates, but she says his place is like a fortress," He turned to a clock in the hall, the time: 12:30pm. "We're going to need backup."

* * *

In Roberta's supply room, she and Revy managed to speak a language they could both understand quite simply; guns. Surrounded by munitions, Revy wasn't exactly well behaved, often bringing Roberta to scold her, "Put that down, please."

Revy shot her a glare and returned the bolt-action rifle she had picked up, to the wall from which it came. She looked all around as Roberta loaded up a backpack and asked, "Nine-two mags?"

Roberta turned and nodded towards a drawer, which Revy promptly opened. The drawer was loaded with magazines, immediately bringing her to smile. However, when she picked one of them up, her smile quickly became a frown; the magazines were emblazoned with a "Taurus" logo. She slowly turned to lock eyes with Roberta and before she could speak, Roberta explained, "In South America we have Taurus. They're not my guns of choice in the first place, and those guns you use are virtually identical; the magazines are interchangeable."

"Fucking hell," Revy remarked as she slipped several magazines into her pockets. The argument of comparing her Cutlass to a Taurus would wait for another time.

Roberta discreetly looked to Revy as she armed herself, and turned back to her work as she asked, "Do you love him?"

Revy heard her loud and clear and knew exactly what she was asking. Her eyes narrowed and she turned to face her rival, "What was that?"

"The young man in your crew, I remember how he looked at you," Roberta replied. "Do you feel the same?"

Revy offered no response; she simply continued to stare at Roberta, her eyes devoid of emotion, and her pointer fingers begging for a trigger to squeeze. Just as she might have offered an explanation, Dutch entered the room, "You ladies just about ready?"

"Yes," Roberta replied.

Snapped out of her trance, Revy asked, "Big Sis call you back?"

"Yeah," Dutch replied as he observed the rather minimal armaments they were bagging. "You two might want to bring bigger guns."

They both stopped and asked in unison, "Why?"

"From what Balalaika told me, this guy's place is a fortress, and he's got quite a few men working for him."

"How many?" Revy asked.

"Could be as many as five-hundred. But, as we saw, he's got the military on his payroll. I'd bet just getting in is gonna be tricky," Dutch replied.

Roberta turned back to her work, her duress written on her face. At seeing her rival upset, Revy actually felt surprisingly good. So good in fact that she smiled and offered her, "Hey…" Roberta looked up, and Revy continued, "…cheer up, four-eyes; I think I've got an idea."

* * *

In Garcia and Rock's holding room, Garcia lay back on the bed while Rock sat at its foot, a smoking cigarette in his lips. Lucky for Garcia, his true first bout of guy-talk would at least be with someone he considered his peer, as opposed to one of his business associates. Unfortunately for Rock, while Garcia was a brilliant young man, he was a bit uneducated on the topic of birds and bees. While Rock wasn't necessarily a bad teacher, he wasn't about to get into details with the young master.

"You still haven't answered my question," Garcia spoke, breaking the silence that had filled the room.

"And which question was that?" Rock asked.

"You and that lady you work with."

Rock smiled slightly, "Revy…" Just thinking of her face brought a feeling of warmth over him, "…Rebecca…" Rock searched for the right words. He thought for a moment of their time in Japan, after Revy'd been injured. While they both knew what had happened between them was a mistake, it didn't stop them from repeating that mistake several times after returning to Roanapur. Finally Rock sighed and tilted his head back to finish his thought, "…I don't know what we are, Garcia."

"If anyone should know, shouldn't you?"

"I wish it were that easy," Rock replied. "But with Revy, there's just no right answer." Rock exhaled a mouthful of smoke and let his guard down a bit, though he was sure to carefully choose his words, "To tell you the truth, these past few weeks, I've gotten closer to her than I ever imagined she was capable of. I guess even a hardened killer can still need to feel like a woman every once and a while."

Garcia's head sank slightly and Rock asked, "So what about you?"

"I suppose I feel the same way."

For a moment, Rock wondered if Garcia and Roberta by some freak occurrence may have in fact known each other's intimate company. "Did something happen between you and Roberta?"

"When we were in the jungle in Roanapur, I kissed her."

Rock's eyes widened and he asked, "You kissed her?"

"Since we've come home, she's all I've been able to think about." Rock smiled as Garcia continued, "She means everything to me, and since my father…" He caught himself and finished his thought, "…Roberta and Fabiola are all I've got left in this world."

"But isn't Fabiola-"

"More my age?" Garcia interrupted. Rock nodded and Garcia continued, "She is, but Roberta-"

"Is special," Rock concluded with a grin. The young master smiled and nodded in reply. "Trust me kid, I know exactly what you're going through."

* * *

In the main hall of the Lovelace home, Revy held Captain Cantillo's phone to her ear, and was being passed around a switchboard. Every now and again, she was placed on hold, on her way to her intended subject, "Fucking hell!"

"Just what in the hell are you doing, Revy?"

"Relax, Dutch; this bitch owes me a favor," Revy reassured the boss. "That is of course is she ever picks up the fuckin' phone!"

"May I ask who's calling?" The woman on the other end asked.

"Tell her it's Rebecca from Mott Street." A pause while the woman on the other end spoke, "I don't give a fuck if she's meeting with the fucking Presi…" Revy's eyes widened, "…she _is _meeting with the President? Fuck, how much dick is she sucking up there?" Again a pause, "Just put me through on her fucking cellphone." She was placed on hold again, "Dammit!"

Dutch checked the clock again: 12:45pm. "Runnin' outta time, Revy. This better-"

Dutch was interrupted as Revy called out with a smile, "Muffintop! How's it hanging?"

"_I might ask you the same question, Rebecca," _the woman on the other end barked. Her voice was higher in pitch than Revy's, but scratchier, almost as if she smoked even more than Revy, _"I could barely believe my message service when they told me it was you. So what do you want from me after all these years?"_

"Remember that job I did for you and your boys, in '96?" Revy asked. "I'm cashing in the favor."

After a few moments explaining numbers, times and coordinates, Revy's friend spoke, _"This is a lot of manpower you're asking for, Rebecca. You'd better be right about this."_

"Say hi to Bill for me," Revy replied with a smile as she hung up the phone.

Immediately Dutch asked, "What the fuck was that all about?"

"Let's just say Uncle Sam owes me a favor," Revy replied. She tossed her camo backpack over her shoulders and ordered, "Now let's go, we've got ten minutes and that place is gonna light up like the fourth of July."


	8. Chapter 8

Roberta pulled the Lovelace limo up to the curb, around a corner, and just a couple hundred yards down the road from Jesus' mansion. As soon as the car came to a halt, she cut the lights and killed the engine. Rain drops pelted the windshield and from the passenger seat, a smile appeared on Revy's lips as she spoke, "Fucking beautiful. There's nothing like a gunfight in the rain."

Roberta slowly turned to face her rival. While the two of them seemed to have found somewhat of a rhythm in their banter, the odd rivalry still had its hiccups, "Must you always use such language?"

"What? You never let your hair down, four-eyes?" Revy asked. She drew one of her Cutlass and racked the slide as she finished her thought, "Small piece of advice; the little things are all pieces of shit like us get in life." Memories of Rock invaded her thoughts, and her tone calmed ever so slightly, "You either learn to enjoy them, or you'll never be fuckin' happy."

"The little things?" Roberta innocently asked, her fragmented mind showing itself.

From the backseat, Dutch called, "Revy, where the hell is this cavalry of yours?"

Revy checked her side-view mirror and as a military truck approached, she replied, "Speak of the devils." She turned to face Dutch, Benny and Fabiola, "So here's how this is gonna work…" She pointed at Dutch just as the military vehicle pulled alongside them and continued, "You, me, four-eyes and mini-maid are in the back of that truck." While Roberta and Fabiola rolled their eyes in unison, Revy turned to Benny, just as a van pulled up behind them. She pointed directly behind them to the van, and commented, "You're in that van; eyes and ears just how you like it." She fell back in her seat and checked her Cutlass, "Any questions?"

Dutch had been so optimistic these past few hours, but none of their simple plan ended up as such. He sighed and raised a cigarette into Roberta's view, via the rear-view mirror, "You mind?"

"Go ahead," Roberta offered.

Dutch lit his smoke and replied, "Seems simple enough, but you said it yourself; nothing these past 24 hours went down as it should have."

Revy smiled and turned to face the boss, "C'mon, Dutchy; don't quit on me now." One of the men stepped from the military truck and knocked at Roberta's window. "Shall we?"

Roberta offered Revy just the slightest of smiles and nodded. Dutch couldn't help but let his excitement seep into his grin. He snuffed out his cigarette between his fingers and replied, "Let's get our boys back."

The quintet headed off into their designated vehicles. In the van, Benny met a trio of blank stares and quietly greeted them, "Ummm…high?" One of the men motioned for him to take a seat and handed him an earpiece. He looked over the gear for a minute, got himself situated and slipped the earpiece in, "Check-check."

In the back of the truck, Revy, Roberta, Dutch and Fabiola each got earpieces as well. At hearing Benny calling out, Dutch replied, "Yeah we've got you loud and clear, Benny-boy."

Maps of Jesus' mansion were already called up on the screen for the Lagoon Company's computer wizard, and after analyzing the on-screen options, he switched to a thermal view, showing the positions of the men inside. A smile passed over his lips and he placed a finger to his ear. Dutch was loading shells into a shotgun, and Roberta was tying her long hair into a neat knot behind her as Benny addressed them, "Alright it looks like there isn't really one stronghold. He's got guys scattered throughout the house, and there are multiple levels. Off the top of my head, I'm gonna say there could be as man as a hundred and fifty of'em in there."

Revy placed a finger to her ear and replied, "What about Rock or Garcia?" Again there was a momentary silence in disbelief of Revy properly using someone's name.

Benny scrolled about the map and replied, "I've got a room on the top floor with just two signatures; I'd say that's your best bet."

Revy turned to Roberta, and found herself staring at what was essentially a mirror image; Roberta's eyes were completely empty. She knew one thing was for certain, this was going to be messy. Revy placed a hand on her shoulder to snap her out of it, and offered her the greatest bit of kindness she'd been able to muster, "Hey…" Roberta's eyes locked with her and she continued, "…bet when you woke up this morning you didn't think you'd be doing this shit, huh?"

"Rebecca?" One of the camo'd men asked.

"Yeah?"

"Lucy asked us if you wanted any backup once you're inside."

Revy turned back to Roberta to find her smiling through her clenched teeth, and while she remained silent, Revy realized how right she was; this was going to be a fucking mess. She turned back to the man and replied, "Tell Muffintop we'll be fine."

"Here we go!" The driver called from the cab of the truck. Everyone ducked down as the truck rapidly approached the police barricaded entrance to Jesus' home. Immediately the officers opened fire on the truck, though it failed to slow in the least. The four of them jolted about as the truck crashed through the barricade, and again as they slammed through the main entrance of Jesus' home.

* * *

At the sound of the gate being smashed, Garcia sat up in bed, while Rock remained calmly seated. "Senor Rock?" Garcia asked.

Rock grinned and replied, "Here they come." His eyes turned towards the clock in the room: 1:10pm. He chuckled slightly as he thought, _"We just might make it to the docks on time after all."_

In the mansion's security office, Jesus' was jumping and screaming like a mad man, "What the fuck is this?"

"We don't know where they came from boss!" One of his men shouted.

"Fucking punto bitches," Jesus muttered. He ran from the room and pulled his own Sistema from beneath his coat. He turned back to the security office and called out, "Get every fucking man down here, right fucking now!" He continued down the hall and headed straight for Garcia and Rock, "These bitches want to fuck with me, I'll fuck with them."

* * *

The truck came to a halt on the front lawn of Jesus's mansion and Revy called out, "Left or right, Dutch?"

"Doesn't matter to me," Dutch replied as he cocked his shotgun.

"Four-eyes and me will go left…"

"You can see that I'm not even wearing my glasses, right?" Roberta asked.

Revy completely ignored her comment and finished her thought, "…you two go right."

"Sounds good," Dutch replied as he stepped from the truck and helped Fabiola down.

Looking up to Roberta, Fabiola spoke, "Be careful…" She turned to Revy and finished, "…you too."

Revy simply nodded while Roberta replied, "Watch your back."

"Ready?" Revy asked as she drew her Cutlass.

Roberta drew her Sistemas and replied with a grin, "Ready."

The moment they set foot onto the now muddy earth, gunfire erupted. As they ran across the lawn towards the left side of the mansion, Revy targeted several men pouring from the main entrance, but just as she was to take her shot, Roberta got them first. She shot the maid a glare, and Roberta smirked in return. Still running towards the side entrance of the expansive mansion, Revy turned her guns directly towards Roberta, and Roberta turned hers on Revy. They each fired several shots, all of which whizzed passed each other's ears, as they were intended for the numerous men fast approaching from behind.

Roberta locked on another small group of men, though this time, Revy managed to get to them first. Roberta's angry eyes met Revy's laughing face and she called out over the gunfire, "We need to work out a system!"

On the opposite end of the compound, the back-and-forth, click-click action of the Dutch's shotgun served almost to set the tempo for their assault. While Dutch seemed fond of one-shot per assailant, Fabiola was dumping massive amounts of lead via her dual SMGs. She could feel herself being taken over by the kill, by the hunt. Killing was the worst kind of virus, one that spread like wildfire, and once it took a hold of you, it was certain to never let go.

"You alright over there?" Dutch called to Fabiola, though when he turned to her, he found her almost dancing as she twirled her guns about. "I'll take that as a yes," Dutch commented to himself.

In the van, Benny's fingers continued to dance about the keyboard. He placed markers on Revy, Roberta, Dutch and Fabiola's heat signatures, watching on as all those that surrounded them stopped in their tracks, and slowly turned as cold as the ground beneath them. He pressed a finger to his ear, "Alright, Dutch; the side entrance should be coming up on your left. There are four guys behind that door so be careful."

"Roger that, Benny-boy." Dutch turned back to Fabiola who was now standing in casings and called out, "Hey, mini-me! Let's move!"

Calling up the opposite end of the compound, Benny again pressed his finger to his ear, "Revy, you there?"

Back-to-back with Roberta, she double-tapped an encroaching thug and replied, "Yeah!"

"Same as Dutch, your side entrance is guarded on the inside, so be careful when you breach."

"Gotcha!" Revy replied, and tilted her head over her shoulder to Roberta. "You done yet?"

Roberta lined up her last shots and squeezed off one round with each gun, both shots landing in the skull of one attacker. In the blink of an eye, she dropped her mags, reloaded and clicked the slide locks, "Ready."

They continued up the property to the side entrance, and pressed their backs up against the walls on opposite sides of the door. Revy raised her fist, inviting Roberta into a game of Ro-sham-bo, though the maid tilted her head in confusion and asked, "I'm sorry?"

Revy rolled her eyes and stepped in front of the door, "Never mind." She kicked the door in and after firing four shots, dropped her mags.

Roberta pressed a finger to her earpiece and asked, "Benny is it?"

Benny flinched in his seat, and speaking with one of, if not the most dangerous house maid in the world, replied most politely, "Uh, yes ma'am?"

Revy reloaded her Cutlass and they proceeded into the mansion and up a flight of stairs. As they walked, Roberta asked, "What does it look like in here?"

Benny called up a different sector of the map and replied, "About fifteen guys up ahead, most of them are huddled together."

Being able to hear their conversation, Revy smiled and tucked one of her Cutlass under her arm. She pulled a single grenade from her backpack and spun it around her finger via the pin. "Frag?" She asked Roberta who simply smiled.

* * *

An explosion rang out in the house, just as the door to Rock and Garcia's room crashed open. Jesus burst in brandishing his polished Sistema, and Garcia quickly got to his feet. While Garcia appeared fearless, Rock slowly stood beside him, a cigarette still in his lips and an almost maniacally confident look on his face. He knew Revy was here, and as long as this man was coming for them, he knew she was doing what she did best.

"You two, come with me!" Jesus ordered. Neither of them moved an inch, bringing him to fire two warning shots at the ceiling, "Fucking move!"

* * *

As Dutch and Fabiola continued through the mansion, they left a trail of shells casings and empty magazines in their wake. The roar of gunfire had died down, and all that could be heard throughout the halls was the occasional shotgun blast, and short bursts of full-auto.

As Benny watched them on the monitors, he could see all four of them should meet in the main hall. Suddenly he looked back to the room he had tagged Rock and Garcia in and saw them being moved. He quickly raised a finger to his ear and spoke, "Heads up guys, I'm pretty sure the head of this parade is on the move with Rock and Garcia."

Revy and Roberta's eyes narrowed, and their combined assault became that much more intense. Unfortunately, they picked the more heavily guarded side of the house and found themselves pinned down in a living area. Revy took a hold of the statue Jesus had delivered earlier, and pulled on it. Seeing what she was attempting to do, Roberta helped her, pulling the statue to the marble floor and allowing them some cover. They both took the chance to reload and this time, Roberta retrieved a grenade. Revy watched as Roberta pulled the pin, and kissed the body of the grenade before throwing it behind her. _"And I thought I had problems," _Revy thought.

Roberta's eyes remained focused on some indeterminate point, and as the grenade clinked across the floor, she quietly spoke, "A hammer blow of righteousness…" The grenade burst obliterating their attackers and she finished her thought, "…to all injustice."

Revy peaked out from behind the statue to find the field was cleared. She and Roberta stood, and near simultaneously, clicked their slidelocks, chambering their weapons.

Revy raised her hand towards the center of the home and offered, "After you."

"Thank you," Roberta replied most courteously.

"How're you doing, Dutch?" Benny asked over the boss's earpiece. All movement within the house had ceased, and the three blips that Benny had determined to be Rock, Garcia, and Jesus had come to rest in the main hall.

Dutch pumped a fresh round into his shotgun before the last spent round had even hit the ground. He turned to find Fabiola just finishing a round of full-auto and lowered his weapon, "Think we're about done here, Benny-boy." He checked his watch: 1:25pm. "Where's Rock and the kid?"

As Revy and Roberta walked through the last room on their way to the main hall, Benny finally turned back to their positions on the monitor. His face instantly showed his concern, and he called out, "Shit! Revy, Roberta!"

Men approached from their sides, bringing Revy and Roberta to once again, seemingly turn their guns on one another. There was no warning on either of their parts, and within a second four shots were fired. While Revy and Roberta were the ones left standing, Revy had a hole in her leg, and Roberta a hole in her arm. Then a pair of screams came in unison, "FUCK THIS HURTS!"

Even though she was in pain, Revy couldn't help but laugh at Roberta finally breaking down and cursing, "Feels pretty good, right?"

As Roberta tended to her arm, she too chuckled at the irony, "Now that you mention it…"

They continued into the main hall, opening the door, just as Dutch and Fabiola entered the room. At seeing their friends with holes in them, Fabiola and Dutch commented at the same time, "Revy!" "Matron!"

"We're fine," Roberta commented, her left hand pressed to her wound.

"That's far enough!" Jesus called from the top of the grand staircase. His Sistema pressed to Garcia's head, and another small firearm to the small of Rock's back, using him as a human shield.

At seeing her young master in Jesus' grasp, rage overtook Roberta's expression. Her lips pulled back revealing her teeth through her smile, though Revy raised an arm in front of her. "Rebecca…" Roberta warned with a mad undertone in her voice.

"Your good arm is done for the night," Revy replied. "I swear I won't let anything happen to him."

Dutch just barely heard the exchange, but he at least thought he'd finally figured out what was going on between them. Why Revy offered Roberta a modicum of respect and kindness, she normally kept hidden from everyone. Revy _did_ respect Roberta, and vice versa, Roberta respected Revy. Perhaps not as individuals, but as able combatants; in their line of work, how good you were with a gun was all that mattered. While they might never see eye-to-eye, they both recognized the other's talents for death, and in their warped minds, that was worth something to the other.

Roberta decocked the gun in her left hand, and replied, "He's all yours."


	9. Chapter 9

All eyes and guns were on Jesus as he slowly descended the stair case. He kept his guns on their respective targets, and the closer he got, the closer Roberta and Revy's feelings for their missing halves came to the surface. Tears slowly filled Roberta's eyes, while Revy only seemed to grow further enraged at the sight of Rock staring at her so intently. His eyes came across her wound, and almost as thought they carried on a complete conversation with their eyes, Revy just slightly shook her head 'no'.

Finally, they came to the foot of the stairs and Jesus eyed Roberta and Revy up and down. He rubbed his nose against his coat and smiled as he commented, "You know, you two bitches have really fucking pissed me off tonight."

Revy proudly grinned and replied most sarcastically, "Sorry?"

Jesus laughed and wrapped his arm around Garcia's neck to hold him in place. Immediately in fear for Garcia's life, Roberta stepped forward, "Master Garcia…"

Jesus kept his eyes on her and gave the young master's neck a tug, stopping her in her tracks. He dropped the small gun he was keeping on Rock, and instead turned his Sistema on him. His eyes still deadlocked with Roberta, he spoke to Rock, "Come here you little faggot." Rock kept his hands raised and Jesus again ordered, "In my coat pocket." Rock reached into his pocket revealing another vial of powder.

Revy's fingers flexed on her Cutlass and Jesus ordered Rock, "Break it, and give it to me." Revy watched as Rock cracked and raised the vial to Jesus' nose. She was so close to getting him back, she had to keep it together. Jesus sniffed the contents of the vial and smiled, "That's good. Now get the fuck back, Puto."

Rock took a step back as ordered and Jesus again turned the gun back to Garcia. He didn't have to keep it on Rock, for him to know any movement on his part ended the young master's life as well. He locked eyes with Revy, and slowly led Garcia to a table in the hall. Switching the Sistema from his right hand to his left, he kept it on the young master, and ordered, "The music box on the table, pick it up." Garcia did as he was told, and Jesus continued, "Wind it." As Garcia wound the music box, Jesus turned back to Revy and spoke, "We do this as our ancestors would have. When the music stops; we fire."

Revy smiled and lowered her gun, while Dutch and Fabiola kept theirs locked on him. Garcia set the music box back on the table, and Jesus asked, "Listo?" Revy nodded slightly and Garcia released the catch, letting the music play. Jesus grabbed the young master by his shirt, and pushed him over to Rock.

Again Roberta flinched, when suddenly, she recognized the music as it played. She remembered the day Garcia had spilt his heart to her through song, and as she listened to the beautiful melody set by the music box, she closed her eyes and smiled. While it wasn't the most opportune time, she could now offer him her feelings. She hummed through the remainder of the first verse, before beginning the second.

No me digas que me amas  
No me digas que me adoras  
Dime solo que te quedas  
Una vida junto a mi  
_(__Don't tell me you love me  
__Don't tell me you adore me  
__Just tell me you'll stay  
__A lifetime beside me)_

Garcia's lips melted into a warm smile at the sound of Roberta's voice as she sang such words. While only Rock, Garcia, Jesus, Fabiola and Roberta knew just what she was saying, its beauty was no less obvious to Dutch, Revy and Benny.

Donde ya no tenga que jurar  
Donde ya no tenga que mentir  
Donde solo exista para ti  
_(__Where I don't have to promise no more  
__Where I don't have to lie no more  
__Where I can exist only for you)_

Oddly enough, Revy too recognized the song, though couldn't quite place just where she'd heard it. The music box began to show signs of slowing and Revy's pointer finger twitched on the trigger of her Cutlass.

No me preguntes si te quiero  
Que no te preocupe lo que pienso  
Que yo soy completamente tuya a mi manera.  
_(__Don't ask me if I love you  
__Don't worry about what I think  
__For I'm completely yours, my own way)_

While the music box still had a little time left in it, Revy was through waiting. Of course it wasn't the honorable thing to do, but this wasn't about honor, it was about making it out alive with the people they came for. She raised her Cutlass, and Jesus hadn't even gotten his gun ready by the time he had a hole in his right wrist, and right lung. The shot through his wrist brought him to drop his gun, and the shot to his chest saw him collapse to his knees. Before he could speak, Garcia ran off towards Roberta who had knelt slightly for him. "Roberta!" He called as he ran into her open arms.

While his embrace hurt her tremendously, no pain would keep her from smiling as she held him, "Master Garcia."

While Roberta and Garcia held one another, Jesus finally managed to speak, "You fucking-"

Jesus was interrupted as Revy's unlaced boot crashed into his face, knocking him flat on his back. Rock carefully approached her and quietly asked, "Are you alright, Revy?"

She looked down on Jesus' squirming form and in that moment, Revy felt no pain as she replied, "I'm fine." She raised her Cutlass and squeezed off another three rounds, one for his left shoulder, and one for each of his thighs. Rock flinched at her brutal use of firepower, though Jesus had no screams left in him.

Across the room, Dutch and Fabiola joined Roberta and Garcia. "Matron, young master; are you both alright?"

"No time for that," Dutch remarked. "I suggest we get your master out of here."

Roberta turned to look at Revy and Rock standing over Jesus. She knew what was to come and turned back to Dutch and nodded in agreement. They got to their feet, and stepped out of the room towards the front lawn.

Now alone, Rock looked to Jesus, then back to Revy. He saw how hard she was struggling with her actions. He couldn't help but wonder what was keeping her from putting a bullet in his head. "You could leave it like this, Revy. He's done."

Revy's expression remained blank as she spoke, "You know, Rock; I've been thinking a lot about us these past few hours."

Rock's eyes doubled in size as she spoke. He'd always wondered just what she thought about, and now, he had an answer. "Thinking about us?" Rock asked.

"Yeah," Revy replied. "This thing we have, what the fuck is it?"

"Is this really the time-"

In an instant, all of Revy's anger and pain came over her. She drew her other cutlass on him and barked, "ANSWER ME DAMMIT! What the fuck am I to you?"

Rock looked back to where their friends were standing, and saw that they were alone. He turned back to Revy to find her eyes still burning with curiosity and smiled. Of all the things he'd imagined they'd take from this horrendous series of events, this was the last thing on his mind. "What can I say, Revy?" Rock asked. Her eyes lightened ever so slightly and Rock continued, "I'm crazy about you."

At long last, Revy smiled and decocked both Cutlass. She lowered the weapons to her sides, and Rock stepped over Jesus's body towards her. Within inches of Revy's soaking wet form, he slid her bangs from her brow, and took a deep breath, his heart pounding violently in his chest. He delicately raised her chin with his left hand to peer into her eyes for a moment, and without waiting too long, pressed his lips to hers. She saw it coming and didn't fight him in the least, though her eyes still seemed to grow in subconscious surprise at first. After a few seconds, her eyes fluttered closed, and with a song of pain once again pouring from Jesus' lips, they pulled away from one another to join their friends.

Revy's arm was draped behind Rock's neck as he helped her onto the front lawn. At seeing the last of Jesus' men rounded up by those who had helped them crash the gate, Revy called out, "There's one more inside, boys!"

The men made there way into the mansion, just as Benny came onto the lawn. Dutch joined Revy and Rock, and Benny followed suit, lining up with his crew, just opposite Garcia, Roberta, and Fabiola. The rain felt like the greatest gift of all this evening, and as their clothes became saturated, there were no words to be had; their stares told their feelings well enough. However, not being the greatest with silence, Revy smiled slightly and spoke up, "Not bad, four-eyes."

Roberta too smiled and replied, "Not so bad yourself, Rebecca."

"It's Revy."

"I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree," Roberta replied as she raised her left hand. Revy slipped her hand into Roberta's, and they shook on their friendly disagreement.

It was a tender moment, though in their world, moments like this never lasted long. "Fuck!" Dutch shouted as he raised his watch into view: 1:45pm.

"Relax, Dutchy," Revy replied. "It's not like he's gonna leave without his phone." She turned to Roberta and asked, "Can you drive?"

Roberta's smile gave her answer, and within seconds, they piled into the Lovelace family limo and were on their way back to the port.

* * *

At La Salina, Captain Cantillo stood on the dock, still shaken from his experience earlier. He brushed his sleeve to the side to check his watch: 1:55pm. He lowered his hands back to his sides and quietly commented, "I'm never doing that asshole a favor ever again."

Just as the last syllable crossed his lips, the limo pulled up and everyone poured out onto the dock. Again, Captain Cantillo tensed up slightly at seeing Roberta and Revy once again, but before he could get a word out, Dutch approached him and dropped his phone into his hand, "Thanks for that, Captain."

Observing Revy and Roberta's blood stained clothes, Cantillo asked, "What the hell…what did you…" Finally he threw his hands up, "Ah, screw it; all aboard!" He turned and crossed the gangway onto the ship.

Dutch and Benny walked past the Captain and onto the boat, while Rock and Revy stood opposite Roberta and Garcia. Fabiola stood at the back of the car and merely offered Rock the slightest of nods. Returning the gesture, he too offered her a smile and nod before she slipped back into the car, and closed the door behind her.

"I guess this is goodbye again, Senor Rock."

"No offense, Garcia; but if we don't do this again for a very long time, I won't be upset," Rock replied.

"Maybe next time we can simply plan to meet one another."

Rock smiled and extended his hand to Garcia. Garcia accepted his hand in a firm shake, and Rock replied, his commitment evident in his tone, "Maybe." Before letting go, Rock and Garcia's eyes turned from Revy to Roberta, and Roberta to Revy. Rock looked Garcia in the eyes once more and offered him a wink as he spoke once more, "Good luck."

"You too, Senor Rock."

Finally their hands separated and Revy commented once more, "See you 'round, four-eyes."

"Safe journey, Rebecca."

"Can't you two just say good-bye?" Rock asked.

Revy and Roberta shared the same twisted smiles once more, and replied in unison, "Nope."

Rock and Revy turned to head onto the boat when the same military truck that had crashed the gate pulled onto the dock. Revy turned slightly, her hands wrapping her Cutlass, as Roberta's hands wrapped her Sistemas. The truck pulled up right next to Rock and Revy and tossed the duffle bag of cocaine at their feet.

Revy looked up to the man who had helped them earlier and asked, "What the fuck is this?"

"It's not our problem," The man replied with a wink. "Oh and Rebecca, Lucy told me to tell you, she weighs 122 now; stop calling her Muffintop."

* * *

The following day, Garcia lay asleep in his bed until the mid-afternoon. Being as late he was in getting to sleep; Roberta took the liberty of rescheduling his morning meeting with Gabriel, and was just on her way to bring him breakfast. She crossed into his room and placed a neatly prepared tray of food onto his nightstand. She wouldn't wake him just yet, and decided to return in just a few minutes. However, as she made it to the door, Garcia called out, "Roberta?"

Immediately she turned in place and replied, "Master Garcia, did I wake you?"

In small moments like these, he occasionally forgot just how mesmerizing he found her to be. He regained control of his thoughts and replied, "Not at all, will you join me?"

She grinned in return and headed back to his bedside. He patted the side of his bed, silently asking her to take a seat and within seconds, she obliged him. She picked up the tray of food and carefully placed it on Garcia's lap. She had resolved herself to belonging to him, regardless of their age difference, and while her face happened to be near the young master's, she casually placed a kiss on his lips.

They pulled away from one another a moment later, revealing their smiling faces to one another. For years she had felt so empty, felt like the dog she truly believed herself to be. But as she stared into Garcia's eyes, she no longer felt hollow; no longer felt like a dog. She felt loved, she _did_ love Garcia, and just as he swore he would wait till the end of time for her, she too would wait for him. She blinked her eyes, and finally spoke, "Good morning, Garcia."

* * *

Two days had passed on the container ship back to Thailand. Once again Revy and Rock lay in opposite lifeboats, and once again, they were engulfed in a heated game of twenty questions.

"Is it something you wear?" Rock asked.

"Nope," Revy replied. "3."

"Is it something inside you?"

"Yep; 2."

"Is it your appendix?"

Revy's eyes opened wide and she sprung up from her laying position. Taking notice of her action, Rock pushed himself upright and his heart began to beat faster and faster, "Wait, was I right?"

"_A little white lie never hurt anyone,"_ Revy thought. She contrived a wide smile and began laughing out loud.

Rock's head sank slightly, and though he had in fact guessed right, she wasn't quite ready to lose at anything with him just yet. Still, she did feel a little bad about it, and decided to make it up to him. She took his tie into her hand, instantly bringing his eyes to meet hers, followed by his lips. Their tongues just barely grazed one another's lips before they pulled apart and Revy smiled, "Don't worry, dumb-ass; one of these days you'll learn."

* * *

_And that's the end of that. If you made it this far, I really hope you enjoyed it :) _

_I haven't done a stand-alone BL fic this long, pretty much ever. Granted it's a continuation of the original one-shot, it is one story ;)_

_In case anyone was wondering, the song Roberta sings to Garcia is a piece of the song Carolina sings to El Mariachi in 'Desperado'._

_-jm_


End file.
